I was privileged to have been invited to participate in the University College of Cayman Islands Caribbean Anti-Corruption Conference held on 19-21 March 2014. I also had the good fortune of listening to two presentations on public procurement in Jamaica from the former Contractor-General, Mr. Greg Christie and the current Contractor General, Mr. Dirk Harrison. Mr. Harrison’s Assistant was kind enough to also provide me with a copy of the 26th Annual Report of the Contractor-General, and I was able to access the Contractor-General’s Act to obtain more information about the procurement practices in Jamaica.
Given the current impasse in Guyana as regards the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission and the insistence of the Government that Cabinet should continue to be involved in the procurement process, I felt that it would be a good idea to examine the Jamaican model with a view to ascertaining what aspects of it may be applicable to Guyana.
Appointment of the Contractor-General
It has now been 21 years since the Contractor-General model has been in place in Jamaica, the related legislation having been passed in 1983 and amended in 1985 and 1999. The Contractor-General is appointed by the Governor-General after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. He/she serves for