Jamaica Contractor General: My office is toothless

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Contractor General Greg Christie has described his office as a toothless bulldog that will remain that way unless there’s political will to bring about the changes needed for the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) to fulfil its mandate.

Greg Christie made the remarks as the keynote speaker this morning, at the Chairman’s Club Forum of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.

He says there is no question that the OCG has pushed and continues to push the envelope to effectively and efficiently discharge its duties.

However, he says the truth is there are inherent and fundamental flaws in the Contractor General Act.

Christie believes this must be amended if his office is to become effective.

In a speech which also highlighted his accomplishments, the Contractor General minced no words in stating that his office and Jamaica still have a far way to go before it can win the fight against corruption.

Christie also criticised successive administrations.

He argued that they have paid little more than lip service to the issue of corruption in Jamaica.

He says their many promises to fix the anti-corruption framework have also failed to materialise.

Earlier this month, the OCG wrote to the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader asking them to clearly state their position on his office’s monitoring and investigation of government contracts and divestments.