Auditor General launches special audit into Transport Ministry’s acquisition of 110 buses for Rural School Bus Programme

Written by: Georgetta Williams and Myesha Broadie

The Auditor General’s Department (AGD) is undertaking a special audit into the Transport Ministry’s acquisition of 110 buses for the Rural School Bus Programme.

The probe follows public concerns about the $1.4 billion acquisition.

The Government imported buses from the United States ahead of the reopening of schools for the 2025/26 academic year.

The programme was launched last September.

The AGD said the special audit is in response to numerous stakeholder representations and media reports regarding the acquisition of 110 school buses by the Transport Ministry.

The AGD says preliminary assessment was undertaken to evaluate the credibility of the claims and to determine whether there was sufficient justification to initiate a formal audit.

The special audit was commissioned to determine whether the procurement and contracts management practices complied with the applicable laws, regulations, policies, guidelines and guidance notes governing public procurement in Jamaica, to attain value for money.

The findings are expected to be published in the July to September quarter this year.

Meanwhile, The cost of buses procured for the Rural School Bus Programme has again been thrust in the spotlight, as the matter was widely discussed in Parliament’s Public Administration & Appropriation Committee, PAAC, today.

Officials in the Ministry of Transport were questioned about whether or not the Government received value for money after purchasing 110 used buses for 1.4 billion dollars.

PAAC member Nickeisha Burchell sought clarification from Permanent Secretary Kedesha Campbell Rochester about the cost for each bus being used in the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, JUTC operated system.

However, there was a misunderstanding about what was asked, and PAAC Chairman Peter Bunting intervened in a bid to provide clarity.

Mrs. Rochester then revealed that it cost approximately $12.7 million per bus.

Ms. Burchell then asked how much it would cost to acquire new buses.

This as the JUTC said it will be seeking to procure new buses for the programme in short order.

The Permanent Secretary said the cost for 150 new buses would be $3.2 billion.

The Permanent Secretary outlined that the change from old to new buses was decided by the Public Procurement Commission, PPC.