The Office of the Contractor General (OCG) has taken note of recent public statements that have been attributed to Mr. Percival LaTouche, the Chairman of the recently organized Jamaica Association of Contractors and Construction Consultants (JAC), in which he alleges that he has filed, or will file, a lawsuit against the OCG for alleged defamation of his character.

While the OCG is yet to receive notice or service of any such lawsuit from Mr. LaTouche, it has, nonetheless, received a letter, dated September 12, 2012, from Mr. LaTouche’s Attorney, requesting, among other things, that the OCG withdraws its Media Release of September 5, 2012, in which the OCG had made public its receipt of a report of an alleged failed attempt at the execution of one of its staff-members by a Government contractor.

The OCG stands by its Media Release in every particular and has, today, by way of a letter addressed to Mr. LaTouche’s Attorney, advised that it will not withdraw its Release. The referenced OCG Media Release did not, in any way, attribute the threat of execution on the life of the OCG staff member to Mr. LaTouche, but merely stated, as a matter of fact, that the staff-member, at whom the alleged execution attempt was directed, was the same person against whom threats of violence were overheard being made during the inaugural meeting, on July 28, 2012, of the JAC.

The OCG has referred Mr. LaTouche and his Attorney to the Police for corroboration of the particulars of the OCG report that was made to the Police and “to gain a greater appreciation of the threat (of execution) that was made against the OCG Officer and, in particular, to obtain better particulars of the reported allegations which the OCG, out of an abundance of caution, did not deem fit to publicly disclose”.

The OCG regards any threat of violence, whether veiled, direct or otherwise, that is made against any member of its staff, to be an extremely serious matter. The OCG will not be intimidated in the discharge of its sworn mandates, under the Contractor General Act, by such threats and will take all requisite and lawful steps to ensure that the safety and security of its personnel are preserved.

Finally, the OCG wishes to reiterate its concerns that false and inflammatory statements, that are irresponsibly directed against the OCG, and which seek to erroneously hold the OCG responsible for what has been alleged, among other things, to be the loss of the economic livelihood of contractors, are, in fact, likely to encourage acts of violence against innocent OCG personnel who are doing nothing more than the jobs that they are mandated by law to do.

In light of Mr. LaTouche’s publication of his letter to the OCG, to the Media today, the OCG has appended, herewith, its own letter of response, of even date, to Mr. LaTouche.

The letter referred to in this release follows:

Office of the Contractor-General

PIOJ Building

16 Oxford Road

P.O. Box 540

Kingston 5

Jamaica, W.I.

 

September 17, 2012

 

Lord Anthony Gifford, Q.C.

Gifford, Thompson & Bright

Attorneys-at-Law

122 -126 Tower Street

Kingston, Jamaica

Dear Sir:

Re: Percival Latouche

We write to acknowledge receipt of your letter, dated September 12, 2012, which has advised, inter alia, that the Law Firm, Gifford, Thompson & Bright has “been consulted by Mr. Percival Latouche, who has brought to [your] attention the Media Release issued by you[the OCG] dated 5^th September 2012.”

The referenced letter, which was received in our office on Friday, September 14, 2012, at approximately 11:00 a.m., requested that the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) “withdraw this release from [its] website and to apologise for having linked [your] client to threats and acts of violence.”

Given the foregoing, and the contentions which are raised in your missive, the OCG must, for the record, advise you that the contents of its Media Release of September 5, 2012 are wholly accurate in fact, and in substance, and that the OCG stands by same in every particular.

Without prejudice to the foregoing,  and having regard to the claims which have been made by you, on behalf of your client, it is important to note the second paragraph of the OCG’s Media Release, which lays the foundation upon which the OCG became aware of the thwarted death threat. The referenced paragraph reads as follows:

“The report, which was conveyed to the OCG this morning, alleges that the OCG staff-member, while he was at a certain location, was identified by the Government contractor. It is further alleged that, unknown to the OCG staff-member, the contractor immediately left the area and returned with gunmen with the intention of killing the OCG staff-member. However, by the time the contractor and the gunmen returned, the staff-member had left the location.”

The material sections of the OCG’s Media Release which make direct reference to the Jamaica Association of Contractors and Construction Consultants (JAC), and Mr. Percival Latouche, your client, read as follows:

“The OCG staff-member, at whom the alleged execution attempt was directed, is also the same person against whom threats of violence were overheard being made during the inaugural meeting, on July 28, 2012, of the recently organized Jamaica Association of Consultants and Contractors (JAC).

The JAC, whose Chairman is Mr. Percival LaTouche, in several of its Media Releases, had accused the OCG of delays in the NCC’s Government contractor re-registration process but, recently, after meeting with the Contractor General, recanted its claims and has since directed them to the NCC.”

It is a matter of fact (a) that Mr. Latouche is the Chairman of the JAC, (b) that threats of violence were in fact overheard being levied against the OCG Officer who is the subject of the current threat, by OCG representatives who were present at the inaugural meeting of the JAC, and (c) that Mr. Latouche, through press releases and media conferences, has accused the OCG of delaying the National Contracts Commission’s contractor re-registration process.

Your letter further states that “Two paragraphs later you suggested that to state that there is such a delay amounts to “a deliberate and calculated distortion of the facts”.

The foregoing must, however, again be read in the full context of the OCG’s Media Release and also with due consideration given to the disclosures which were made to Mr. Latouche, and certain representatives of the JAC, during a meeting which was convened with them, at the OCG, on August 23, 2012.

The material representations and disclosures which were made in the referenced meeting were confirmed by the OCG, in writing, by way of a letter dated August 24, 2012 and, as you might be aware, led to Mr. Latouche, acting on behalf of the JAC, publicly recanting the allegations which he had previously levied against the OCG.

Your letter of the 12^th instant, which highlights certain aspects of the OCG’s Media Release of September 5, 2012, and which has categorized same as allegedly damaging the reputation of your client, whilst conveying imputations which are “deeply damaging and distressing to [your] client”, is also regrettably written and directed to the OCG upon a flawed premise.

It is important to note that the OCG’s Media Release of September 5, 2012, did not, in any way, attribute the latter threat of execution on the life of an OCG staff member to Mr. Latouche, but merely stated, as a matter of fact, that the staff member in question was one and the same person at whom such threats were directed at, from various elements, at the JAC’s inaugural meeting.

Therefore, and quite contrary to your assertions, and should the OCG’s Media Release be read in its entirety, and in its proper and full context, then a reasonable and prudent interpretation of same could lead to no imputation that Mr. Latouche, himself, has levied any threat against the OCG.

In point of fact, the aforementioned extracts and the context in which your client has been associated with the JAC, an association which he chairs, are indisputable facts.

Your letter of the 12^th instant has also advised that “we ask you to withdraw this release from your website and to apologise for having linked our client to threats and acts of violence”.

Having regard to the foregoing, the OCG has deemed it prudent and necessary to bring to your attention that Mr. Latouche, on more than one occasion, has used inflammatory and highly irresponsible statements, about the OCG, in the media and, to the JAC, a group which he, himself, has previously described as being “militant” against the OCG.

To further compound the matter, and to underscore the gravity of the OCG’s concerns, in a meeting which was convened with Mr. Latouche, representatives of the JAC and their legal representative on Thursday, August 23, 2012, it was disclosed to him, that during the inaugural meeting of the JAC, an OCG representative was approached by a member in attendance, and was advised that the staff member, who is the subject of the on-going threats, should seek police protection.

In addition, the OCG must bring to your formal attention, the following two (2) statements which have been attributed to Mr. Latouche, on two separate occasions, in regard to the OCG and its representatives:

Power 106 News at 5:00 pm July 30, 2012 – Statement made by Mr. Latouche

“He have no right to send anyone here who we did not invite… it wasn’t a public meeting, It was a meeting for contractors government procurement contractors and they came in and when they were asked what they were there for … when we found out who they were …I should have allowed them to backside them in there … the meeting was so… militant …”

Tvj News at 7:00 September 6, 2012 – Statement made by Mr. Latouche

“That Office is a lying place because all this should not have taken place if you have any sense, if I see a man strange come around me I would ‘mek’ sure I find the quickest police station and call for help why would I be reporting it to anybody else…”

It is instructive to note, that on Monday, July 30, 2012, in a telephone discussion, between a Media Reporter and the Contractor General, Mr. Greg Christie, he was advised that Mr. Percival Latouche had verbalized to him, that he, the Contractor General, needed a ‘backsiding’. The particulars of the foregoing conversation were formally brought to the attention of Mr. Percival Latouche, during the course of the referenced meeting which was convened on Thursday, August 23, 2012. Mr. Latouche did not, during the course of the subject meeting or otherwise, deny having expressed the stated sentiments to the Reporter.

In light of the referenced statements which have been attributed to your client, the OCG is of the considered view that the sentiments that they convey could not, and would not, serve the purposes of reconciliation and/or amicable relations between the OCG and members of JAC.

The foregoing statements must also be assessed within the context that Mr. Latouche and the JAC have publicly accused the OCG as being responsible for, inter alia, the ‘extreme hardship’ which is allegedly being faced by contractors, as well as the alleged resultant financial losses and destruction of their family life.

It is, therefore, of grave concern to the OCG that the latter statement, which was made on September 6, 2012, and which is attributed to Mr. Latouche, is likely to bring into question the institutional integrity and credibility of the OCG. The referenced statement, in the OCG’s view, possesses the potential to unravel the gains which were achieved between the OCG and the JAC, both during and subsequent to the OCG/JAC meeting of August 23, 2012 and could have, as a consequence, resulted in more harm than good.

Such are the OCG’s contentions that it would respectfully encourage both yourself and Mr. Latouche to make contact with Det. Inspector McIntosh of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Halfway Tree, Jamaica Constabulary Force, to gain a greater appreciation of the threat that was made against the OCG Officer and, in particular, to obtain better particulars of the reported allegations which the OCG, out of an abundance of caution, did not deem fit to publicly disclose.

Given the very serious nature of the public statements which have been made by Mr. Latouche, against the OCG, which are now known to be unfounded, the OCG is obliged to respectfully suggest that Mr. Latouche should, in the future, be more responsible with his public utterances, particularly having regard to their far reaching impact and the potential which they possess to become the source of acrimony between the OCG and JAC contractors.

We wish to assure you that, the OCG, as it has always been, is prepared to continue dialogue with your client in a constructive, respectful and professional manner. Being a creature of the law, such dialogue must, however, be within the parameters of the authority, responsibilities and expressed understanding of the NCC Contractor Registration process as laid out in the OCG’s correspondence to Mr. Latouche which are dated August 9, 2012 and August 24, 2012, respectively, copies of which are enclosed for your ease of reference.

Please be guided accordingly.

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Craig Beresford (Signed)

_______________________

Craig Beresford

Senior Director of Operations,

Corporate Communications and Special Projects

For and on behalf of the Contractor General

 

c.c.       Detective Inspector McIntosh, Criminal Investigation Bureau – HWT, Jamaica Constabulary Force

 

From Jamaica Observer

LaTouche to take OCG to court

BY BALFORD HENRY Observer Senior Reporter

Monday, September 10, 2012

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Chairman of the Jamaica Association of Contractors and Construction Consultants (JACCC), Percival LaTouche, says he will be seeking legal redress from Contractor General, Greg Christie, for recent statements about him included in releases from the Office of the Contractor General (OCG).

LaTouche claimed that his character was “maligned and tarnished” by the OCG in two media releases issued on behalf of the Contractor General.

The releases were titled “OCG Statement in Response to Allegations and Threats made by Contractor Group” on July 30, and “Allegation of Thwarted Threat of Execution on the Life of OCG Staff Member”, issued on September 5.

In the July 30 release, the OCG said it would not submit to threats and ultimatums against its staff, which it alleged, were made before, during and after a meeting of the JACCC on July 28 at the Medallion Hall Hotel in Kingston.

It also stated that the contractors, who were called to the meeting by LaTouche, accused the OCG, among other things, of intimidatory tactics because they were tape recorded at meetings and referred to the Police Fraud Squad.

In the September 5 release, the OCG said it received a report of an alleged failed attempt to execute one of its staff-members by a Government contractor. It also stated that the JACCC, which is chaired by LaTouche, in several media releases, accused the OCG of delays in the NCC’s Government contractor re-registration process.

For more on this story go to: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/LaTouche-to-take-OCG-to-court#ixzz26l89k5da