Y.P Seaton demands apology from OCG

Prominent contractor, YP Seaton and Associates wants the Office of the Contractor General, (OCG) to apologise for statements it made last week concerning the involvement of the company in Prime Minister Bruce Golding's recent overseas vacation trip. 

The OCG had responded to a call by the Opposition PNP for the Contractor General to investigate the financial relationship between the company and the Prime Minister.

The Opposition had called for the OCG to investigate what it described as an inappropriate and highly irregular financial relationship between the Prime Minister and YP Seaton.

 In response to the call, Mr. Christie said if it can be proven that Mr. Golding received a gift from Mr. Seaton, a Government contractor, the matter should be turned over to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and/or the police.

This has angered Mr. Seaton, who says the OCG's statements which contained hearsay, opinions and conjectures  have impugned and tarnished the reputation of the company and himself.     In his statement, Mr. Seaton explained that he and the Prime Minister along with other friends have been making the bird shooting trip for over 20 years and all participants pay their own way.

The statement says while Mr. Seaton coordinated the trip, Mr. Golding paid J$730 thousand for himself and his son Stephen.

It also says the company has successfully won competitive tenders to provide services to the Government and some of its agencies over the last 30 years spanning administrations of both the PNP and JLP.

In addition it says the National Contracts Commission has scrutinised and endorsed all contracts the company won by competitive tender.

 The contractor further says the OCG's unfortunate remarks not only damage the reputation of persons like Mr. Seaton but also undermine the credibility of the Office of the Contractor General.