VZCZCXRO8945
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHKG #0176/01 0581832
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271832Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5996
INFO RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 7459
RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN 2379
RUEHGR/AMEMBASSY GRENADA 0039
RUEHBH/AMEMBASSY NASSAU 2589
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE 3076
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN 5159
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 5908
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 000176 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/LP (BOZZOLO), WHA/CAR (TILGHMAN) AND CA/EX 
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT 
TREASURY FOR OTA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCOR KCRM PGOV JM
SUBJECT: JAMAICA:  PNP MP KERN SPENCER ARRESTED IN CUBAN 
LIGHT BULB SCANDAL 
 
REF: 07 KINGSTON 1681 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary:  Following months of public speculation, 
Peoples National Party (PNP) former state minister  and 
current Member of Pariliament  Kern Spencer was charged and 
arrested, on February 26, for his alleged involvement in the 
Cuban Light Bulb scandal.  Reftel initially reported the 
scandal, and the fact that it represented the first challenge 
the newly elected Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government faced 
regarding how it would react to strong allegations of 
corruption by high-level officials.  This arrest marks a 
break from the past and hopefully a turning point in making 
public officials accountable for their misdeeds.  Only if 
there are legal consequences will high-level public officials 
think twice before committing future acts of corruption.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  :  Under what technically is called the 4M Energy 
Saving and Light Bulb Distribution Project, Fidel Castro,s 
government provided the Jamaican government, through then 
Minister for Mining, Energy and Telecommunications Phillip 
Paulwell, four million, energy saving light bulbs and a cadre 
of Cubans to distribute them.  The project was implemented 
between 2006 and 2007 without any written bilateral 
agreement.  This gift could now cost the Jamaican government 
nearly USD 4 million.  Paulwell claims he handed the project 
over to his state minister, Kern Spencer, to implement. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  The Cuban Light Bulb scandal is the latest of 
several such scandals rocking Jamaica during the last several 
years.  However, in the past, it appeared that, through an 
informal mutual agreement between the PNP and the JLP, no 
legal action was taken against suspected public officials. 
Rather, &Commissions of Inquiry8 were created and 
ultimately their findings failed to indicate any violation of 
the law.  The scandal usually died a quiet death.  At most, 
public officials were cited for failing to follow proper 
procedure.  But, that meant nothing, since no penalty was 
applied. 
 
¶4.  (U) As mentioned in reftel, the scandal broke in October 
2007, when the current, JLP Minister of Energy, Mining and 
Telecommunications, Clive Mullings, brought the case to the 
attention of the Auditor General and the Contractor General. 
Auditor General Adrian Strachan presented his annual, formal 
report to Parliament in January and among other things 
indicated that, with respect to the 4M case, government 
procurement and disbursement rules were &breached.8 
Specifics were provided such as absence of required written 
contracts preventing clear indications of who engaged the 
service providers and what were the terms of reference and 
fees to be paid.  Also, of the 4 million bulbs, 176,380 could 
not be accounted for. Comment:  Strachan retired in December 
2007 and has not yet been replaced.  End Comment. 
 
¶5. (U) The Auditor General,s annual report was followed by 
the Contractor General,s annual report which was sent to 
Parliament in early February.  It was even more damning on 
this subject than was the Auditor General,s report. 
Contractor General Greg Christie took an important step by 
declaring that there was evidence suggesting &a very strong 
inference of an unlawful criminal conspiracy and corruption8 
in the awarding of contracts for installation of the light 
bulbs. The report accused Spencer of &improper, unauthorized 
and unlawful intervention in the project,s procurement, 
contract award and contract payment processes.8 
 
¶6. (SBU) Christie stated that two companies that benefited 
most by this project were Universal Management and 
Development Company (UMD) and Caribbean Communications and 
Media Network (CCMN).  Both were formed in July 2006, 
following the announcement in July of the Cuban project. 
Rodney Chin is sole director of both companies.  The mother 
of Spencer,s illegitimate child, Sherine Shakes, is listed 
as UMD,s project manager.  Her mother, Verdie Mair, was 
listed as first company secretary for UMD and CCMN.  In 
addition, it was alleged that a company owned by Spencer, 
Butterfly Traders Limited, also benefited from the project. 
 
KINGSTON 00000176  002 OF 002 
 
 
All money paid out for the project came from the Petroleum 
Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ).  Comment:  Ms. Shakes 
apparently had no previous experience working as project 
manager.  Ms. Mair was paid USD 10,000 by PCJ for catering. 
End Comment. 
 
¶7.  (U) Christie sent his report to Director of Public 
Prosecutions and to the Commissioner of Police suggesting 
that criminal investigations were warranted.  He specified, 
in Spencer,s case, that it appeared that he had obtained an 
illicit benefit contrary to Section 14(1) of the Corrupt 
Practices Act.  The PNP leadership convinced Spencer to take 
a leave of absence from his seat in Parliament until March 
31, to allow for the investigation.  On February 21, Jamaican 
Immigration placed Spencer on their &Stop Watch8 to prevent 
him from fleeing the country. 
 
¶8.  (U)  On February 26, Spencer, Rodney Chin, and Coleen 
Wright  (a PCJ supervisor and Spencer,s personal assistant) 
were formally charged and arrested, following earlier 
questioning by the Organized Crime Investigation Division 
(OCID) of the JCF.  Seven charges were filed against Spencer. 
 They include three counts of conspiracy to defraud, 
violation of Section 14(1) if the Prevention of  Corruption 
Act, and three money laundering offenses ) concealing and 
disguising criminal property (valued at USD 37,836.65), 
transferring criminal property from Jamaica (USD 64,576.50) 
and engaging in a transaction with criminal property.  Chin 
and Wright face similar charges. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Conclusion:  Despite widespread public corruption, 
this is the first time since 1990 that a high-level Jamaican 
official was arrested for corruption.   At that time, J.A.G. 
Smith received a three years jail sentence for apparently 
soliciting money in connection with the U.S. and Canadian 
farm workers programs.  Smith,s misdeeds occurred in the 
1980s, when he was the JLP Minister of Labour.  Embassy 
believes this is the first time in history that a PNP Member 
of Parliament has been brought up on corruption charges. 
Hopefully, fighting corruption will become a non-partisan 
objective.  According to newspaper accounts published on 
February 27,  PNP leader Portia Simpson Miller issued a press 
release on the 26th stating that &the PNP wishes to reaffirm 
its stance against any involvement in acts of corruption and 
firmly believes that the rule of law should always take its 
course.8 
 
JOHNSON