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The Contractor General, Greg Christie is questioning the reasons for a  decision by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) to change its security company.
Mr. Christie is also querying whether there is a link between the new company's owner and the People's National Party. The letter which is dated February 16 was labelled urgent and immediate.  
It referenced a letter from the NSWMA regarding procurement for security guard services. The NSWMA stated that the agency opened the tendering process in November 2009 for security firms, but there had been no evaluation of the tenders which were submitted. 
It also stated that Knightsman Security Services has been engaged on a month by month basis through the direct contracting methodology. The NSWMA wants the National Contracts Commission to end that arrangement, saying it is concerned about safety at its properties islandwide as there have been a number of breaches.
The NSWMA wants Knightsman replaced by EAP Security Services and that is where the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) has concerns.
Among the issues the OCG pointed out was that the tendering process was 2010 not 2009. The OCG said, based on procurement procedures, the entity cannot approve direct contracting above 3 million dollars and such request should be properly made to the NCC chairman. 
The OCG also had EAP under the microscope and its records say the company was incorporated in 2009 with Mishka Myrie and Lloyd Myrie junior listed as directors.
Also, EAP is not registered with the NCC, it has never been awarded any government contracts, neither has it been endorsed by the NCC. 
The OCG further enquired into the principals of EAP and that it said unearthed a reference to a Lloyd Myrie and the PNP in the north west St. Elizabeth constituency.
The Contractor General therefore had some questions: "On what basis is the NSWMA considering engaging EAP; what evidence is there that the company has the capacity and experience to do the job; how competitive are their rates; is Lloyd Myrie junior a former People's National Party representative or a relative of the person and was there any interference or suggestion by any person to recommended EAP?"
 With those preliminary questions, the OCG has queried whether the February letter is the position of the NSWMA, the genesis and the rationale of the EAP recommendation.
The agency’s deadline to respond was Tuesday. Incidentally, the opposition spokesman on local government, Desmond McKenzie, was tabling similar questions in Parliament. The answers to those questions are due in three weeks. Attempts to reach Local Government Minister Noel Arscott and the NSWMA's executive director Rupert Pryce were unsuccessful.