Dear Reader,

I began paying attention to the Office of the Contractor General (OCG), and by extension, the man behind the office several years ago when Greg Christie was more or less settling into the position of contractor general and beginning to stamp the “Christie” brand on that institution.

I was curious to know how any one individual would have the courage and tenacity to take on the formidable establishment and to seek to reform an entity with such intricate workings and dynamics, and a task with such far-reaching implications.

My curiosity propelled me to seek an interview with Greg Christie, and that meeting left me with a clear understanding of who the man is and an appreciation of how serious he is about his job.

Having met Christie and in the process learned much more than I knew before concerning the role of the contractor general, I felt that it was important to share what I had discovered with the wider public. I consequently penned an article in the Jamaica Observer: “A few good men”. Interestingly, everything I learned and understood about Greg Christie six years ago still applies today. He has been solid and steady from beginning to now, “near-end”, and though he may leave office with what I describe as an “aborted legacy”, nobody can erase the indelible mark he has made on the Office of the Contractor General and on the Jamaican society.

In 2010, I was forced to go to Christie’s unsolicited defence as I watched and listened to the ferocious attacks that were being levelled against his office and even his character. It was clear to me that the attacks were deliberately orchestrated and designed to emasculate the OCG.

In an article in this newspaper, “A high price to pay for integrity”, I wrote, “Let no one fool you. The battle lines are drawn and the enemy is a one-man anti-corruption army named Greg Christie…The locus of attention is the Office of the Contractor General and it seems that the intention is to hurt Greg Christie, the contractor general and the one man who has come to represent the symbol of integrity for an entire nation.” I was especially incensed that Christie had been described by MP for South West St Catherine Everald Warmington as “overzealous”.

Greg Christie has indeed paid a very high price for his integrity, and even on the eve of his departure the onslaught continues.

The latest is the move by the PNP administration seemingly to usurp the OCG by establishing a so-called “independent” panel to monitor certain government projects. Two weeks ago in Parliament, Transport and Works Minister Dr Omar Davies said he would not allow the Office of the Contractor General to be a stumbling block as the government moves to take advantage of certain opportunities. Wow! What the country needs to ask Dr Davies is which other stumbling blocks do he and his Cabinet colleagues intend to move out of the way?

The contractor general has every right to sound the alarm, especially when both PNP and JLP agree on the same thing, and he should not be the only one concerned about this development. If the transport minister has somehow stumbled upon a newly found appreciation for governmental alacrity and efficiency, why not engage the OCG’s office in examining workable timelines? Why would Dr Davies want to create another layer of bureaucracy on top of the mountain that already exists, and which is precisely why the system is so sluggish and monumentally prone to corruption? Christie has every right to conclude that the panel is simply an attempt to bypass the scrutiny of the OCG and to sanitise the government’s contracting actions while presenting a public façade of transparency and accountability.

Since it was crystal clear that Christie would never buckle or acquiesce, I kept looking out for a manoeuvre from the powers that be to get around the OCG. However, I didn’t expect that it would be so deliberate and brazen, and that it would come so fast – only four months into a new administration.

I have a great deal of respect for Danny Williams, one of those on the

Davies-appointed panel, but I believe he has made a mistake in being co-opted for this task. I would hope that a gentleman of the stature of Danny Williams would withdraw from the panel and let the minister know that this is not the right thing to do. As an admirer of Danny Williams, I think it would be a shame to see his impressive legacy compromised in that way.

This looks like Greg Christie’s last fight, but I am happy that he is going away fighting. I can’t blame Christie for refusing to renew his contract, and I notice that there is no clamour from either the PNP or the JLP for him to stay on. None of us is surprised. It’s the old cliché again, “When the cat’s away, the mice will play.”

One thing is certain: Greg Christie will demit office with his legacy of integrity intact, though aborted, and with an unblemished record of protecting the taxpayers of Jamaica. There is so much more that Christie could have accomplished, if certain stumbling blocks had not stood in his way. It is regrettable that the contractor general will leave office, to the best of my knowledge, with not one single recommendation for prosecution litigated, but even that fact cannot erase the immense impact that he and his office have had on our country. It’s going to be interesting to see who will occupy his chair after he leaves.

With love,

bab2609@yahoo.com