Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Strachan

ADRIAN Strachan, Jamaica's longest-serving Auditor General, stepped down from that post yesterday after 29 years. Mr. Strachan, 63, served the Auditor General's Department for 45 years.

No announcement has been made on who will be Mr. Strachan's successor. The Auditor General is appointed by the Public Service Commission (PSC), but that body's members were recently fired by Prime Minister Bruce Golding for misconduct.

Last week, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Prime Minister to appoint new members to the PSC. It refused to extend an injunction by Opposition Leader, Portia Simpson Miller, barring Golding from naming a new panel until the previous members got a 'fair' hearing.

Youngest person appointed

Mr. Strachan told The Gleaner that his departure coincides with the end of the Auditor General's calendar year. The office is required under the Constitution to submit an annual report to Parliament by December 31.

Born in Montego Bay, Mr. Strachan succeeded Rudolph Irvine as Auditor General in 1978 when he was 34 years old. He remains the youngest person appointed to the post.

He joined the staff at the office of the Auditor General shortly after leaving Kingston College. But for a six-month stint with the accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, he has been with the government organisation which is mandated to audit the affairs of public companies.

Mr. Strachan's office has dealt with several controversial issues in the past 10 years. He said the ones with 'political overtones' were the most difficult to resolve.

"Once the politics is involved, it makes things more difficult. You find that once that is the case, the PAC tends to behave in a somewhat different manner," he said.

Delinquency increased

In November, Mr. Strachan pointed to widespread corruption in the public sector. Yesterday, he said delinquency has increased since he joined the AG's office in 1962.

He rates the 2002 NetServ affair, involving former Technology Minister Phillip Paulwell, and the recent Cuban light bulb debacle, as the most challenging cases of his tenure.

The latter was a multimillion-dollar fiasco which came to light in November. It resulted in the resignations of Paulwell and former junior minister Kern Spencer from their positions as Opposition spokespersons.

A full report from the Auditor General on the light bulb case has been submitted to Prime Minister Golding, Mr. Strachan said.

Mr. Strachan was recently appointed to the Audit Advisory Committee, a five-member panel established by the United Nations. He plans to lecture locally on the importance of public accountability.