THE OFFICE of the Contractor General (OCG) has launched a probe into several contracts recently awarded by the state-owned Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC).

Among the contracts to be examined are a multimillion-dollar deal granted to a security firm owned and operated by National Solid Waste Management Authority chairman, Dennis Morgan.

According to a release from the OCG, the contract, which was endorsed on May 21 by the National Contracts Commission, was awarded to Protection and Security Limited, at which Morgan is listed as a principal and chief executive officer.

The contract was approved for approximately $124.5 million to provide security services at all JUTC locations for a period of two years, from 2008 to 2010.

Morgan not worried

Morgan told The Gleaner yesterday he was not perturbed by the OCG investigation, as he was confident the deal was made following due diligence.

"I have no concerns, because the invitation was tendered and I offered my bid like everybody else," he said.

Morgan said he submitted a bid on January 29, during an open invitation involving other well-known security companies, including Hawkeye Security, Vanguard Security Limited, Atlas Protection Limited and Guardsman Limited.

The OCG is also investigating a contract awarded by the JUTC to Simber Productions Limited, a corporate entity in which murdered JUTC chairman Douglas Chambers was listed as the majority shareholder.

The release further said the OCG would be looking into "any other contracts, which may have been awarded by the JUTC to any director of the (bus company) or to any entity in which a JUTC director is or was a director, partner, shareholder or associate".