CONTRACTOR General Greg Christie yesterday expressed concern over the "slow pace at which meaningful and substantive reforms to the country's anti-corruption institutional framework" are taking place.

Christie made the statement against the background of Prime Minister Bruce Golding's address to the nation on Monday night, in which he apologised for sanctioning a decision by persons in his Jamaica Labour Party to engage the services of US law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips to lobby the US government on the Christopher "Dudus" Coke extradition matter.

But the contractor general, who has been a stickler for propriety as it relates to Government's contractual engagement, yesterday said he had "once again taken hope" in Golding's undertaking Monday night to "stamp out corruption (in Jamaica) and to hold public officials to account".

According to Christie, though Golding in his inaugural address as the prime minister of Jamaica on September 11, 2007, had spoken specifically to "the priorities" of his Government and had named among them "transparency and accountability in government and the elimination of corruption", very little has happened in meaningful terms between then and now.

"It is, therefore, against this background, that I would respectfully make and or reiterate the following minimum recommendations, for urgent implementation by the Executive and Legislative arms of the State. I have chosen to do so publicly so that they are placed on the public record," Christie said.

Among the measures the contractor general advocated was the establishment of a single and adequately resourced national anti-corruption agency, encompassing the Integrity Commission, the Corruption Prevention Commission and the Commission of the Contractor General.

Christie said this agency should be vested with the independent legal authority to criminally investigate and prosecute all corruption and Government contract and licence related offences.

Furthermore he said the Government should either establish a special corruption court to adjudicate all of the foregoing offences, assign special magistrates or judges to adjudicate same; or give precedence in the courts to the adjudication of all such offences, save and except for capital and other serious offences.

Christie said pending the implementation of these two measures, the criminal sanctions for breaches of the Contractor General Act, the Corruption Prevention Act and the Government Procurement Rules should be immediately increased.

Pending those implementations, the contractor general called for more independence to the Office of the Contractor General by removing all decisions regarding its budgetary and resource allocations from the Ministry of Finance and giving this to a special bi-partisan commission of Parliament chaired by the parliamentary opposition.

He also reiterated a call made late last year for the amendment of the Government Procurement Rules to prohibit the award of Government contracts, above an established minimum value, to or through any private entity which fails or refuses to disclose full, sworn and certified particulars of its beneficial shareholders or owners when tendering.

"Make no mistake about it, corruption in Jamaica runs through the veins of both our public and private sectors. It has as some of its chief architects those among us who are regarded as being upstanding members of our society. If it is not decisively arrested, it will render fatal and fanciful any prospects which the Administration may otherwise have for taking Jamaica out of its third-world socio-economic quagmire," the contractor general emphasised.

He said the OCG was willing to "play its part in killing this monster" but could only do so much and no more until the "administration unambiguously and forthrightly demonstrates the political will to bring about the much needed institutional changes which will be needed to ensure that the country's corrupt and parasitic criminals are brought to book and placed behind bars".
A NOW UNNO WAAH COME CHAT AWF UNNO DUTTY MOUT BOUT CORRUPTION CHU UNNO OFFICE NEARLY GET FRIG UP AND KILL AWF A BAGGA PPL ?UNNO **** YA NOW WAIT TILL DI MAN DEM BOOM UP DAT $@#$% ALL DI POLICE STATION AGO GET CLAP DUNG TO .ALL THIS TIME UNNO PACKIT PHAT UNNO NEVA GIVE A %&%* BOUT CORRUPTION BUT CHU JAMAICA A SINK NOW BEFORE INTERNATIONAL EYES AND UNNO MONEY A SLIP THRU UNNO HANDS UNNO COME AH CHAT %&%*.SHUT THE F-U-C-K UP CHRISTIE"!