CHRISTIE
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW Greg Christie has been appointed the new Contractor General, replacing Derrick McKoy who recently stepped down from the post after seven years.
Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke is scheduled to swear in the new Contractor General at King's House on Wednesday.
Mr. Christie was reportedly chosen for his background in corporate management, work in the local bauxite industry, and experience in project management and procurement.
He was previously vice-president and assistant general counsel with the Global Commodities Business Unit of the Kaiser Aluminium and Chemical Corporation in Florida.
Before working with Kaiser, he was the founder and chairman of a Jamaica credit reporting firm.
He has lectured full-time for 10 years at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Law Faculty in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. He has also worked in the region as a legal consultant for private and public sector organisations, including the United Nations.
DUTIES
Donald Miller, acting chairman of the National Contracts Commission, explained in August that Mr. McKoy was retiring after completing his fixed seven-year term in office.
The Contractor General's office is responsible for the monitoring and investigation of irregularities and discrepancies in the award and implementation of contracts. It also makes recommendations to heads of departments, ministers and Parliament, based on its findings.
Mr. McKoy's tenure was marked by incisive comments on the performance of the construction system, but also carried worrying revelations of cost overruns, improper tendering procedures and evidence that public sector building sites were increasingly afflicted by 'organised criminal management' and regulation of labour.
He repeatedly criticised the award of contracts by Govern-ment departments for failing to follow established guidelines.
The Contractor General and the National Contracts Com-mission have separate responsi-bilities, and both function independently of each other.
