Shaw and Christie

FINANCE MINISTER Audley Shaw has defended the Government in the wake of stinging criticism over the awarding of contracts by Contractor General Greg Christie.

On Thursday, Christie slammed the Bruce Golding administration for its decision to exempt four companies - Air Jamaica, Petrojam, the Jamaica Tourist Board and Jamaica Vacations Limited - from the application of rules governing the awarding of contracts.

But yesterday, Shaw fired back. He argued that the Office of the Contractor General was well aware of special circumstances which caused Cabinet to exempt those entities from following the Government Procurement Procedures Handbook.

According to Shaw, compliance with the procurement procedures was imposing severe constraints on the ability of the entities to conduct their businesses efficiently.

Public bodies

Shaw said that although classified as public bodies, entities such as Air Jamaica and Petrojam were commercial organisations operating to make a profit in a competitive environment.

The finance minister also challenged Christie's claim that his office had not been consulted on the matter.

"Presentations were made by the contractor general or his representative in a series of meetings with the prime minister, the National Contracts Commission, the attorney general, the Cabinet Office," Shaw said.

The new guidelines for the companies were decided after careful consideration by Cabinet, with the contractor general's input leading to modifications, Shaw disclosed.

"It must be stressed that the approvals for variation in the procurement policies for these entities are limited to certain unique types of procurement and do not represent a wholesale exemption," Shaw said.

He added that he welcomed the contractor general's intense scrutiny of the four companies, saying it was consistent with his "statutory functions to monitor the award of government contracts".