No-bid danger - IC raises eyebrows over high number of single-source and emergency contracts awarded by public bodies

Seventy per cent of the more than 34,000 contracts entered into by Jamaican public bodies during the last financial year, with a combined value of $370 billion, were awarded using either the single-source or emergency-procurement methods, the Integrity Commission (IC) has disclosed.
The IC is the country’s principal anti-corruption body and is also tasked with monitoring the award of contracts by government-owned entities.
The single-source procurement method allows entities to request a bid directly from a specific supplier while the emergency method allows them to rapidly procure goods, works, or services in response to sudden or unforeseen events.
All 198 public bodies are required to report to the IC all contracts valued at $500,000 or more. The commission confirmed that they achieved a 100 per cent compliance rate for the 2025-2026 financial year.
The IC’s database shows that 34,398 contracts, with a combined value of $370.68 billion, were awarded by public bodies during the last financial year, Kevon Stephenson, the commission’s director of investigations, revealed during a rare press conference on Tuesday.
According to Stephenson, goods accounted for 52 per cent of that expenditure while services and works represented 26 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.
He further noted that the final quarter of the 2025-2026 financial year accounted for 36 per cent of the year’s total expenditure before cautioning that “the procurement methods underlying these figures warrant particular attention”.
“Single-source and emergency contracting combined accounted for 70.5 per cent of all contracts awarded during the period, representing more than seven in every 10,” he told journalists.
Stephenson also disclosed that restrictive bidding accounted for 25 per cent of contracts by number but represented 31 per cent of their total value.
“The largest value share of any method,” he said.
“Accordingly, our monitoring of these methods remains a priority.”
Stephenson also revealed that public bodies reported $3.4 billion in cost overruns, variations, and other price adjustments for contracts entered into during the last financial year.
The IC’s data capture only instances where cost overruns, variations, or price adjustments amount to at least $500,000 on a contract.
The director of investigations said public bodies reported contracts with a combined value of approximately $393 billion during the financial year.
He noted that there was a 91 per cent response rate from public entities asked to provide the IC with details of contracts they had awarded. This was lower than the 100 per cent response rate recorded the previous year.
Stephenson said the data showed $713 million in cost overruns, $1.78 billion in variations, and $950 million in other price adjustments.
“Measured against the $393 billion in contracts reported, the $3.4 billion in overruns, variations and price adjustments represent approximately 0.9 per cent of that contract value,” he noted, describing the figure as “modest” when compared with international standards.
livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com