Corruption Body Finds Conflict of Interest, Irregularities in Lease of Space at Ochi Transport Centre to Councillor’s Wife
ST ANN’S BAY, St Ann; Oct 1, 2026
The Integrity Commission has ruled that the St Ann Municipal Corporation (SAMC) should take formal steps in reprimanding Councillor Ian Bell and seek to recover money that should have been charged for the operation of a business by his wife Shirlyn Campbell-Bell at the Ocho Rios Transport Center, St Ann.
The Director of Investigations (DI) at the Integrity Commission found that there was a breach by Councillor Bell of the established principles of conflict of interest in the handling of an application by Mrs Campbell Bell in seeking the rent/lease of a space in the transport centre for the establishment of a 40 ft container to house a gaming lounge business.
(Councillor Ian Bell)
The DI concluded that Councillor Bell failed to uphold the standards of conduct expected of a Councillor and contributed, by omission and conscious inaction, to the improper handling of a conflict of interest matter in which he had a direct personal connection.
The investigation concluded that Councillor Bell acted in breach of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development Concerning Allegations of Conflict of Interest and Irregularities in the Approval Process Related to the Rental/Lease of a Section of the Ocho Rios Transportation Centre and the Construction of a Commercial Building
The details of the arrangements and the investigation by the Director of Investigations of the IC are set out in a 94-page document tabled last month in Parliament under the heading: “Allegations of Conflict of Interest and Irregularities in the Approval Process Related to the Rental/Lease of a Section of the Ocho Rios Transportation Centre and the Construction of a Commercial Building.”
This came after an unnamed individual made a complaint to the IC in 2023 about procedural conflict of interest breaches in the application and establishment of the business. The investigation ran for more than three years and involved interviews with more than 26 people in the SAMC, including the CEO Jennifer Brown Cunningham the Commercial Services Manager, the current Mayor and Chairman Michael Belnavis, former Mayor Sydney Stewart, councillors on both side of the political divide and several officers and staff.
(Michael Belnavis, one of more than 20 people — SAMC staff and Councillors interviewed in the probe)
The crux of the concerns and the investigation was the allegation that Councillor Bell did not clearly, from the start, identify that the applicant for the spot at the Transport Centre was his wife, who was named on the application as Shirlyn Campbell (rather than Shirlyn Campbell-Bell) and that he did not recuse himself or withdraw from the Commercial Services Committee when the matter was being discussed. Some of those interviewed said Councillor Bell, from the start, identified the applicant as his wife.
(A view of the gaming shop in the Ocho Rios Transport centre, the centre of the probe)
Further, although Mrs Bell’s application to rent/lease was approved and she was given approval to install the 40-ft container business, the necessary application for a Building Permit was not made or obtained. Also, the investigation found that to date no fees have been paid to the Council for the business that continues to operate.
The DI found that no approval was obtained prior to Mrs Campbell-Bell constructing and installing the container. “The DI further concludes that up to the date of this report, the building plans have not been approved/issued by the St. Ann Municipal Corporation; however, a building has been erected and is operational, in violation of section 17(1)(a) of the Building Act, 2018.”
The DI also blames the civilian management side of the SAMC for several missteps along the way, and for ignoring established processes.
“The DI concludes that the manner in which Ms. Campbell-Bell’s March 31, 2023, application was presented to the Commercial Services Committee departed from the process established by the SAMC for such applications, and that this departure contributed to the errors in the SAMC’s subsequent treatment of the application. This conclusion rests on evidence from three independent sources.”
NO FEES FOR 3 YEARS
The DI concludes that since Ms. Campbell began operating her business from the container she mounted in the Ocho Rios Transportation Centre in May 2023, there is no evidence of any fees being paid to the Corporation or any attempts made by the Corporation to collect the applicable fee in accordance with the obligation/responsibilities of self-financing entities.
To remedy this breach, the DI recommended that: “the Corporation take the necessary steps to assess, calculate and recover all outstanding fees due and payable, in relation to the operation of Mrs. Shirlyn Campbell-Bell’s business (gaming lounge) in the Ocho Rios Transportation Centre since about the 3rd or 4th of May 2023”. The DI further recommends that steps be taken to enforce compliance of the relevant policies and laws in respect of Mrs. Shirlyn Campbell-Bell, who, for all intents and purposes, is an unauthorised occupant of Corporation property.
(Front view and inside shot as photographed by the IC)
The DI recommended that the report be referred to the SAMC for appropriate and necessary action, in keeping with the DPP’s prior ruling.
It recommended a formal reprimand pf Mr Bell and consideration of disciplinary action. Also that the SAMC take steps to make staff and councillors conversant with the relevant procedures and laws of the Council.
Specifically, it recommended, “That Councillor Bell be formally reprimanded for failing to withdraw and recuse himself from the Commercial Services Committee’s consideration of an application submitted by his wife, notwithstanding his personal interest in the matter, and for knowingly allowing procedural irregularities to occur despite being aware of the correct process….and that the Chairman (Mayor Belnavis) consider whether the seriousness of the breach, given the personal nature of the interest involved and the Councillor’s admitted knowledge of the proper procedure, warrants referral for further disciplinary review under the applicable governance or disciplinary framework of the Corporation.
The IC also made recommendations to the Office of the Prime Minister that the body of local anti-corruption legislation be expanded to include the criminalization of acts and/or omissions which constitute the willful and/or negligent non-disclosure of a conflict of interest.
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