Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
COURTNEY ROSE
IT WASN'T me! - That's the cry of Courtney Rose, who has been fighting feverishly to defend his character and innocence.
The battle began after the name Courtney Rose surfaced in the uncomplimentary Contractor General's report on the affairs of National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA). The report said Alston Stewart, former executive chairman of the NSWMA, recommended a Courtney Rose who benefited heftily from the public purse under questionable circumstances.
Among other things, the report tabled in Parliament outlined that 10 contracts were awarded to Courtney Rose within a six-month period, totalling $5.9 million, plus material supplied by the solid waste agency.
The report further said Courtney Rose was not registered with the National Contracts Commission (NCC) and his association with the agency was seemingly shrouded in secrecy.
An article was subsequently published in The Sunday Gleaner querying who was Courtney Rose.
It was then that the nightmare began to unfold.
"When mi come out of church mi have 32 missed calls that Sunday," explained Mr. Rose. Among the calls was a client who almost withdrew a contract to build a house because the client thought he was involved in corruption.
BRANDED AS CORRUPT
Now, Mr. Rose says, he has been branded as corrupt and people have started to expect favours.
"A policeman that I know ask if mi if mi nuh know seh ah back to school time and mi must can do something for him ... people all saying that mi soon start drive Escalade," said a frustrated Mr. Rose
Mr. Rose admitted he was easy prey in this case of mistaken identity because of his profession - a construction engineer employed to Asphaltic Concrete Enterprise.
While he successfully convinced many that he is not the person mentioned in the solid waste report, Mr. Rose is concerned about the perception of people he does not know.
Fate would have it that Mr. Rose recently applied for a job at the Ministry of Local Government. To date, he has not received a response and he is convinced that his name was partly responsible.
The battle-weary Mr. Rose said the ordeal has driven him to thoughts of migrating. "Mi nah tell nuh lie, mi feel like mi woulda migrate and mi love Jamaica," he stressed.
Mr. Rose told The Gleaner that he has one solemn request: "All I want them to understand is that it is not this Courtney Rose. Mi no inna corruption and if I apply for a job I wouldn't want them to stigmatise me as some corrupt politician."
