A 73-PAGE report detailing the findings of the Contractor General's investigation into the controversial Sandals White-house hotel project in Westmore-land has been submitted to Parliament but has yet to be tabled and, therefore, released to the public.
O.T. Williams, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, told The Gleaner yesterday that he had not received a copy of the document while filling in for House Speaker Michael Peart on Wednesday.
Audley Shaw, Opposition Spokesman on Finance and chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, said if reports from Contractor General Greg Christie that the document was sent to the House on Wednesday are accurate, a matter of such grave importance should have been tabled immediately.
DELIBERATELY WITHHELD
Mr. Shaw questioned whether the report was deliberately being withheld from Parliament and the people of Jamaica.
Mr. Christie said in a statement yesterday that the national interest demanded that the report be made public.
"In the interest of ensuring public scrutiny and transparency of our findings, I have also yesterday (July 12) conveyed copies of the report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the president of the Senate," he said. "In keeping with the requirements of Section 28(3) of the Contractor General Act, the Speaker of the House and the president of the Senate are obliged to have the report tabled before both Houses of Parliament as soon as possible."
The Contractor General's investigation into the Sandals White-house scandal began in January this year, following allegations of corruption and cost overruns on the multibillion-dollar joint public/private sector venture.
Mr. Christie said copies of the report had been sent to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who has responsibility for the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), one of the partners on the project; Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies; UDC head, Marjorie Campbell; and Aubyn Hill, chairman of the National Investment Bank of Jamaica, another partner on the project.
