There is no war of words between Contractor General Greg Christie and the Government over the controversial sale of Sandals Whitehouse to Gorstew Ltd, said Information Minister Daryl Vaz.

At a post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Vaz said at no point was he questioning the functions of the contractor general. However, what he was questioning was whether it was correct for the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) to initiate an investigation where persons could be perceived to be wrong-doers before they were actually confirmed to be wrongdoers.

"I would like to clarify whatever misunderstanding or miscommunication has been surrounding my recent comments about the office of the contractor general and, hopefully this will be the final clarification, that neither the Government nor myself is in any war of words with the contractor general's office or the contractor general himself," said Vaz.

The minister said he was not interested in getting into any further cross talk over the matter and wanted to reaffirm the commitment of himself and government on the mandate of the OCG in stamping out corruption.

To sum up what he wanted to bring across, Vaz borrowed a quote from special investigator from the United Kingdom, Helen Garlick, which was "The most important duties carried by anyone who is conducting a major criminal investigation is to preserve the confidentiality of the investigation and to protect the rights of suspects to their privacy and, in the event that they are charged, to a fair trial."

Clearing the air

Vaz said he hoped this would clarify his stance on the matter and that any state agency carrying out any investigation would employ the same principle.

Vaz said he would have much preferred to see a conclusion of an investigation with findings rather than "what is deemed and seen as a sensational announcement of an investigation with pieces of information, without the conclusion of an investigation, and I think the prime minister made it clear that the investigation was at a beginning stage rather than an ending stage."

Vaz said, to his knowledge, the OCG had received all the documentation it had requested in carrying out its investigation into the matter.