Greg Christie, Contractor General. - file

Due to the severity of the findings from recently concluded special investigations into the procurement practices of the Petroleum Company of Jamaica (PETCOM) and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Contractor General Greg Christie has requested that the documents be tabled in Parliament "as soon as possible".

"In light of the gravity of some of our findings and our consequential recommendations, and in the public interest, I have also formally conveyed copies of both investigation reports to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the president of the Senate," the Contractor General said in a release issued yesterday.

Because of the nature of the findings, Mr. Christie told The Gleaner yesterday that he felt compelled to reveal the information to the public.

However, before the documents can be made public, the law requires that they be first tabled in Parliament.

The public domain

"I think what we have here warrants putting the thing in the public domain," Mr. Christie said.

When quizzed yesterday for further details, he was tight-lipped. "I can't pre-empt the process," he told The Gleaner. However, he did disclose that the statement regarding the gravity of the findings was in relation to information gleaned from both entities. "(It) is for both reports because I have sent both to Parliament," he said.

The reports have been sent to the ministers and permanent secretaries in the ministries with portfolio responsibility for the entities in question and also the heads of both state agencies.

The investigation into the procurement practices of PETCOM was initiated by the office of the Contractor General in September last year after allegations were made in the media that the chairperson of the PETCOM Board, Barbara Clarke, had an interest in Elegant Traders Ltd., a company which was reported to have been awarded contracts by PETCOM.

The NSWMA investigation commenced in May 2006 as a follow-up to the OCG's 2005 investigation into the procurement practices of the NSWMA. A further investigation was also conducted by the OCG into allegations that were publicly made last year that contracts, in excess of $40 million in value, had been awarded by the NSWMA without the approval of its Board of Directors