KERN SPENCER was absent from yesterday's sitting of the House of Representatives, but his name came up in yet another transaction in which establised procedure was not followed.

Spencer, who is at the centre of the controversial Cuban light-bulb project, is among several persons and bodies to have purchased/ leased property from Government without the approval of the Land Divestment Committee.

A state minister in the last People's National Party (PNP) government, Spencer was allowed to purchase two acres of lands at Gilnock, St Catherine, for $2.8 million. The land was never advertised, nor did the minister with responsibility for lands at the time, Roger Clarke, ask the Land Divestment Committee to decide whether his colleague should be allowed to purchase the properties.

Yesterday's revelation is as a result of questions tabled by JLP MP for South East St Mary, Tarn Peralto, to Minister of Agriculture Christopher Tufton.

Tufton told the House of Representatives that there were 140 sales for which ministerial approval was given between 2004 and 2007. He said that 71 of these sales have been completed.

Other organisations

The University of Technology, the University of the West Indies, the South East Regional Health Authority, the Social Development Commission, Cool Oasis and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emer-gency Management are among organisations to have acquired lands that were never advertised and for which the committee did not give approval.

Garnett Roper, Winston Beaumount, Carlton Haye, Burchell McLarty, Fitzroy Barrant, Jessica Hosang and Leroy Tulloch are private citizens who benefited from landswhich were never advertised, according to the document presented to the House by Tufton.

Spencer, who Contractor General Greg Christie said breached Government's procurement guidelines in the distribution of free Cuban light bulbs islandwide, is under pressure to resign his North East St Elizabeth seat.

Case to be referred

The PNP said on Monday that it will refer his case to an internal review committee for consideration as soon as it gets a copy of the contractor general's report, which was leaked.

The report was tabled in Parliament yesterday, following which PNP MPs quarrelled about the fact that the report was leaked to the media.