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It appears that Contractor General Greg Christie is not interested in a marathon debate with Faith Innerarity, former permanent secretary in the now-defunct Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports (MICYS). over the the award of contracts for the Olympic athletes' homecoming week of celebrations last October.

Christie, who last week said there was disregard for government procurement guidelines in the award of contracts to some entities, on Monday blasted the former chief accounting officer for mishandling the matter.

"When carefully read, the OCG's (Office of the Contractor General) Report of Investigation will reveal a litany of substantiated breaches which occurred in the former permanent secretary's ministry, and which led the OCG to conclude, among other things, that there was maladministration, an untidy state of affairs and a lack of due care on the part of the MICYS in its expenditure of public funds and its administration of the process, which led to the award of the contracts which were associated with the athletes' homecoming week of celebrations," Christie said Monday.

Christie said the OCG was concerned about pronouncements made in the media over the last four days by Innerarity. He said the former permanent secretary, while not providing any adequate, detailed or credible particulars to substantiate her contentions, has taken issue with the OCG's report by relying primarily upon what she has casted as a "difference in opinion" between the MICYS and the OCG on what constitutes contracts for "artistic and cultural products and services".

In The Sunday Gleaner of June 27, Innerarity said while she understood the function of the OCG, it is her view that the position taken by Christie in his treatment of artistic and cultural products and services was "debatable".

Following the publication of the report, Innerarity chided the OCG for impugning her reputation and that of other public servants, a charge Christie has rebuffed.

"Public officers and, in particular, government accounting officers, are themselves responsible for their own actions. They are also, themselves accountable, under the law, for the discharge of the responsibilities in respect of which they are paid by the taxpayer," Christie said.