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Man of the year: Greg Christie, contractor general
GEOF BROWN
Friday, January 18, 2008
Corruption is so much a part of the fabric of Jamaican society that it hardly raises eyebrows or evokes outrage. It does not surface in opinion surveys as a major problem in the conduct of our affairs, any more than we remark on the heat of the sun as a concern in this tropical climate. It is a given.
GEOF BROWN
Enter Greg Christie, a man who describes himself in his resume as having a "strong ethical grounding" and "highly driven to serve and succeed, yet apolitical". If there was a blueprint required for the kind of person who could best fit the position of contractor general to confront corruption in this corrupt society, Christie, based on the personal attributes he describes, would seem tailor-made for the job. But of course much more than sterling worth of character is required to "serve and succeed" in the one position most heavily charged with protecting taxpayers against fraud and misuse of public funds.
Within less than two years after his appointment as contractor general in January 2005, Greg Christie led the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) to amazing accomplishments.
Consider this one, for instance. Following the formal implementation of the OCG's Zero Tolerance Policy in November 2006, the compliance rate of public bodies which submit their Quarterly Contract Award (QCA) Reports on time jumped from 13 per cent as of October 2006 to an incredible 96 per cent as of October 2007. In real figures, that translates to 166 of 191 public bodies failing to file on time in the earlier period, dropping to only seven out of 191 failing to file on time one year later. It takes little imagination to guess that such an accomplishment did not come about with sweet pleadings and soft requests. The sterling character attributes of the CG had to be backed up with unwavering courage and indomitable persistence.
And that toughness and seriousness which underlie the various achievements of the contractor general in his relatively short time in office, help to explain why he is my choice for Man of the Year.
Obviously, he cannot be popular with all and sundry. In fact, I know that he has faced threats for which he has been offered protection.
CHRISTIE... within less than two years after his appointment as contractor general in January 2005, he led the OCG to amazing accomplishments.
But his conviction about the importance of the job, in ensuring probity and transparency in the management of public funds, drives him to risk disapproval from those who would prefer the blind eye and the "give a bligh" Jamaican syndrome. His success in jocking up accountability, illustrated by the dramatic improvement in on-time reporting of public bodies cited above, did not come by accident.
During 2007, the OCG made 95 formal prosecution referrals to the director of public prosecutions covering 68 delinquent public bodies who failed to comply with the lawful requisitions of the OCG.
And the general public needs to understand the extent of the power of the CG. He is appointed by the governor general after consultation with the prime minister and the the Opposition leader. He then reports only to Parliament, having been "entrusted with the exclusive statutory authority to monitor and to investigate the award and termination of all government contracts, licences and permits, and to ensure propriety, probity, competition, fairness and
transparency in the Jamaica public sector procurement process". His powers are similar to those of a judge of the Supreme Court with extensive statutory discretionary powers of investigation, inclusive of the power of subpoena over persons and public officials.
You only have to have a passing conversation with Mr Christie to know how seriously he takes his awesome duties. His office provides technical and administrative support for the National Contracts Committee (NCC). In 2006 such support enabled the NCC to evaluate, scrutinise and endorse 575 government contract awards of $4 million and over, versus 401 endorsements the previous year.
The aggregated value of these awards exceeded $25 billion. Mr Christie is himself highly accountable, submitting his annual reports to Parliament on time. Internally he has used technology to revolutionise the efficiency of his office. Thus, to the surprise of those who underestimate the uses of Information Technology, his office has demonstrated its capacity to handle large volumes of reporting and heavy inspection duties with limited staff. He himself gives high praise to the committed teamwork of his staff.
Who is this exemplary public servant, this true latter-day crusader? He is an attorney with LLB (Hons) and Master of Laws degrees plus extensive specialised training in several legal areas. He has served in the public and private sectors in the USA, the Caribbean and Africa, for instance as vice president (legal) of Kaiser Aluminium and Chemical Corporation, one of the world's former leading metals and mining companies.
He has consulted extensively in insurance law, corporate law and international law.
He has taught law for some 12 years and "lectured, examined and/or tutored over 1000 of the region's current attorneys, judges and public legal officials". And as an entrepreneur he founded a credit reporting service which in two years ranked as the leading firm of its kind in Jamaica with over 700 corporate clients.
Jamaica needs more model public servants like Greg Christie - qualified, courageous, committed and yes, ethical. May he continue to remain apolitical. We desperately need some more of those.
browngeof@hotmail.com or geofbrown07@gmail.com
GEOF BROWN
Friday, January 18, 2008
Corruption is so much a part of the fabric of Jamaican society that it hardly raises eyebrows or evokes outrage. It does not surface in opinion surveys as a major problem in the conduct of our affairs, any more than we remark on the heat of the sun as a concern in this tropical climate. It is a given.
GEOF BROWN
Enter Greg Christie, a man who describes himself in his resume as having a "strong ethical grounding" and "highly driven to serve and succeed, yet apolitical". If there was a blueprint required for the kind of person who could best fit the position of contractor general to confront corruption in this corrupt society, Christie, based on the personal attributes he describes, would seem tailor-made for the job. But of course much more than sterling worth of character is required to "serve and succeed" in the one position most heavily charged with protecting taxpayers against fraud and misuse of public funds.
Within less than two years after his appointment as contractor general in January 2005, Greg Christie led the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) to amazing accomplishments.
Consider this one, for instance. Following the formal implementation of the OCG's Zero Tolerance Policy in November 2006, the compliance rate of public bodies which submit their Quarterly Contract Award (QCA) Reports on time jumped from 13 per cent as of October 2006 to an incredible 96 per cent as of October 2007. In real figures, that translates to 166 of 191 public bodies failing to file on time in the earlier period, dropping to only seven out of 191 failing to file on time one year later. It takes little imagination to guess that such an accomplishment did not come about with sweet pleadings and soft requests. The sterling character attributes of the CG had to be backed up with unwavering courage and indomitable persistence.
And that toughness and seriousness which underlie the various achievements of the contractor general in his relatively short time in office, help to explain why he is my choice for Man of the Year.
Obviously, he cannot be popular with all and sundry. In fact, I know that he has faced threats for which he has been offered protection.
CHRISTIE... within less than two years after his appointment as contractor general in January 2005, he led the OCG to amazing accomplishments.
But his conviction about the importance of the job, in ensuring probity and transparency in the management of public funds, drives him to risk disapproval from those who would prefer the blind eye and the "give a bligh" Jamaican syndrome. His success in jocking up accountability, illustrated by the dramatic improvement in on-time reporting of public bodies cited above, did not come by accident.
During 2007, the OCG made 95 formal prosecution referrals to the director of public prosecutions covering 68 delinquent public bodies who failed to comply with the lawful requisitions of the OCG.
And the general public needs to understand the extent of the power of the CG. He is appointed by the governor general after consultation with the prime minister and the the Opposition leader. He then reports only to Parliament, having been "entrusted with the exclusive statutory authority to monitor and to investigate the award and termination of all government contracts, licences and permits, and to ensure propriety, probity, competition, fairness and
transparency in the Jamaica public sector procurement process". His powers are similar to those of a judge of the Supreme Court with extensive statutory discretionary powers of investigation, inclusive of the power of subpoena over persons and public officials.
You only have to have a passing conversation with Mr Christie to know how seriously he takes his awesome duties. His office provides technical and administrative support for the National Contracts Committee (NCC). In 2006 such support enabled the NCC to evaluate, scrutinise and endorse 575 government contract awards of $4 million and over, versus 401 endorsements the previous year.
The aggregated value of these awards exceeded $25 billion. Mr Christie is himself highly accountable, submitting his annual reports to Parliament on time. Internally he has used technology to revolutionise the efficiency of his office. Thus, to the surprise of those who underestimate the uses of Information Technology, his office has demonstrated its capacity to handle large volumes of reporting and heavy inspection duties with limited staff. He himself gives high praise to the committed teamwork of his staff.
Who is this exemplary public servant, this true latter-day crusader? He is an attorney with LLB (Hons) and Master of Laws degrees plus extensive specialised training in several legal areas. He has served in the public and private sectors in the USA, the Caribbean and Africa, for instance as vice president (legal) of Kaiser Aluminium and Chemical Corporation, one of the world's former leading metals and mining companies.
He has consulted extensively in insurance law, corporate law and international law.
He has taught law for some 12 years and "lectured, examined and/or tutored over 1000 of the region's current attorneys, judges and public legal officials". And as an entrepreneur he founded a credit reporting service which in two years ranked as the leading firm of its kind in Jamaica with over 700 corporate clients.
Jamaica needs more model public servants like Greg Christie - qualified, courageous, committed and yes, ethical. May he continue to remain apolitical. We desperately need some more of those.
browngeof@hotmail.com or geofbrown07@gmail.com
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