ALARM BELLS!

KINGSTON, Jamaica—The Integrity Commission (IC) has found that Councillor Ian Bell (People’s National Party, Beecher Town Division) participated in deliberations on his wife’s application for space at the Ocho Rios Transportation Centre, while the commercial operation proceeded without the required permits and with no evidence of a lease agreement.

The findings are contained in an IC report into allegations of conflict of interest and irregularities surrounding the rental or lease of space at the St Ann facility and the construction of a commercial building there.

The investigation was launched in August 2023, after the complaint was referred to the director of investigation in July that year. According to the report, Bell’s wife, Shirlyn Campbell-Bell, applied on March 31, 2023 to rent space at the transportation centre to place a 40-foot container from which she intended to operate a gaming lounge.