PROFESSOR Fritz Pinnock's stewardship of the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) yesterday again came under sharp scrutiny at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at Gordon House, as officers of the institution say they were following direct instructions from the president's office for the payout of contracted services.

Associate vice-president of the Faculty of Advanced Skills and Professional Development at the university Dr Kornel Brown told the PAC that he followed instructions from Professor Pinnock that payments be made to Optimum Customer Service and Consultancy for the provision of lunches — through 15 suppliers — and other services to some 600 participants in the Career Advancement Programme - Youth Employment Solution (CAPYES) across the island.

Brown, who oversees one of four versions of the CAPYES, which is administered by the CMU through its sentinel sites across several parishes, said there were a mix of arrangements for the provision of lunch to the participants, including the payment of subsidies instead of providing meals.

PAC Chairman Mark Golding pointed out that the document on the issue which had been submitted to the committee, only speaks to a memorandum between the CMU and Optimum, which sets out a general business partnership framework regarding training.

St Ann South East MP Lisa Hanna noted also that the memorandum between CMU and Optimum was dated March 2018, three months after Dr Brown said he was issued with a memo instructing him to endorse the payments.

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