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Firm did not meet all 10 deliverables, got pay cut, says permanent secretary

BY KIMONE FRANCISSenior staff reporterfrancisk@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

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PERMANENT secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) Dunstan Bryan is reporting that marketing and public relations firm Market Me Consulting Limited did not meet all 10 deliverables set out in the second contract it was awarded for the expansion of the Jamaica Moves campaign resulting in a reduction in payment to the firm.

Bryan made the disclosure in a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer amid calls from the Opposition People's National Party for Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton to speak on the issue of contracts awarded to the firm, following a series of allegations being circulated across social media that Tufton shares a close relationship with one of the principals of Market Me.

The Observer raised questions about the amount of funds disbursed to Market Me after examining documents released by the health and wellness ministry which detailed its spend on activities relating to activities with the firm.

In July 2019 the firm signed a one-year contract with the ministry for an amount totalling $38,931,820 with the expectation that it would meet the deliverables set out as part of the terms of the contract.

However, in the documents released on its website, the MOHW noted that it disbursed $27,017,571.89 to the firm, almost $12 million less than the amount initially agreed upon when the contract was awarded.

The deliverables were not produced so they were not paid for. Not all of them were met, so that's why there is a balance on the contract, Bryan said in his exchange with the Observer.

He, however, did not indicate which of the deliverables had been met and subsequent calls to his phone for clarity went unanswered.

Market Me's ability to meet the deliverables of the contract which was for it to develop and implement a social marketing campaign to support the Jamaica Moves programme as a component of the National NCD Strategic and Action Plan 2013-2018 was an issue raised by the committee which evaluated the proposal submitted by the firm.

The committee gave Market Me a failing grade of 65.6 for its proposal 4.4 points short of the qualifying mark of 70.

The committee, at the time, noted that the unrealised qualifying score was on the premise that it felt there was the need for additional human capacity to execute all the deliverables set out for the contract.

However, it said a request was made for this to be done and Market Me agreed to engage additional capacity where necessary for activations.

On this premise, it gave the go-ahead for negotiations to begin between the ministry and the firm, which was initially engaged through the direct contracting procurement methodology for the job.

The negotiating team comprised the same members of the evaluation committee and Bryan.

The deliverables outlined include: an inception report and work plan ($618,750); monitoring and evaluation strategy plan ($601,000); social marketing strategy and implementation plan for Jamaica Moves in schools ($1,340,000); social marketing strategy and implementation plan for Jamaica Moves in the community ($1,340,000); social marketing strategy and implementation plan for Jamaica Moves in the workplace ($1,340,000); monthly reports ($28,092,000); midterm review ($432,000); review document (no figure attached); draft final report ($618,750); and final report ($229,500). Reimbursable expenses totalled $4,319,820.

The review document was expected to capture and report on key performance indicators for the project to determine the effectiveness of the project implementation. The document was to look at the efficacy of the campaign and decide on the way forward. This was expected to be produced by Market Me upon consultation with key stakeholders. The document was to be a review of deliverables one to five and make recommendations for adjustments to the document as required.

In a statement released on Sunday, the company said that its contract with the ministry regarding Jamaica Moves had expired.

We anticipate that our negotiations regarding a renewal of the contract will treat with all matters outstanding, including but not limited to the ownership of and rights to intellectual property.

We remain proud of Jamaica Moves and its impact on reducing the incidence of lifestyle diseases in Jamaica. The programme's success has been independently recognised locally by the Gleaner Company Honour Awards for Health, and internationally by the World Health Organization.

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Market Me missed the mark - Jamaica Observer