Since 2006, the Office of the Contractor General (OCG), in keeping with its strategic operating objectives to significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the discharge of its statutory mandates under the law, has undertaken the conduct of several Special Investigations into the award of Government contracts and the issue of Licences.

Sections 15 (1) and 16 of the Contractor General Act vest in a Contractor General the discretionary power to undertake Investigations into any or all of the following matters.

(a)     the registration of contractors;

(b)     tender procedures relating to contracts awarded by public bodies;

(c)     the award of any government contract;

(d)     the implementation of the terms of any government contract;

(e)     the circumstances of the grant, issue, use, suspension or revocation of any prescribes licence;

(f)     the practice and procedures relating to the grant, issue, suspension or revocation of prescribes licences.

An Investigation may be undertaken by a Contractor General on his own initiative or as a result of representations that are made to him if, in his opinion, such an Investigation is warranted.

Upon conclusion of an Investigation, a Contractor General is obliged by Section 20 (1) of the Contractor General Act to convey a written Report thereon to the principal officer of the Public Body concerned and to the Minister who has portfolio responsibility therefor.

Section 28 (2) of the Act vests in a Contractor General, a discretionary power to submit a copy of an Investigation Report to Parliament.

Section 21 of the Contractor General Act also outlines certain circumstances in which a Contractor General is mandated to submit an Investigation Report to Parliament. The Section expressly provides as follows: “If a Contractor General finds, during the course of his investigations or on the conclusion thereof that there is evidence of a breach of duty or misconduct or criminal offence on the part of an officer or member of a public body, he shall refer the matter to the person or persons competent to take such disciplinary or other proceeding as may be appropriate against that officer or member and in all such cases shall lay a special report before Parliament”.

All Reports that are required to be submitted by a Contractor General to Parliament must be submitted by him directly to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President of the Senate, who shall, “as soon as possible”, table the Report in the appropriate House.

Once an Investigation Report has been tabled in both Houses of Parliament, a Contractor General is empowered by Section 28 (4) of the Contractor General Act, in the public interest, “to publish (same) in such manner as he thinks fit”.

The Special Investigation Reports that are listed below have been duly tabled in Parliament and are hereby published by the Contractor General in the public interest. Please click on the relevant link to read any of the Reports in their entirety.

(SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that several other Investigations have been conducted by the OCG during 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, but the Reports thereon have not been published because they have not been submitted to Parliament. The Executive Summaries of several of those Investigation Reports have, however, been reported to Parliament in the OCG’s 2006, 2007 and 2008 Annual Reports and may be reviewed by reading the said Annual Reports).