Whistleblower

Chapter 2

Two

On the last Friday in April, John Drake sat at his desk in The Office of State Supply reading the agency’s whistleblowing guidelines, for what must have been the fifteenth time, waiting for four o’clock. John was convinced he was doing the right thing but he was also aware of what often happened to whistleblowers, despite all the words in the Act.

He also knew it was too late to regret looking at things he hadn’t been asked to investigate, even though he wished he hadn’t let his curiosity get the better of him during the slow period around Easter, when he’d started opening folders on the share drive and reading the contracts behind the payments he administered.

Initially, he’d thought it would be interesting to know the specific terms and conditions in the individual contracts. Then he’d decided it would be useful to understand the agency’s procurement policies and guidelines, since the agency was charged with getting the best value for the government’s dollars when buying products and services.

When he’d noticed that some of the more expensive cleaning contracts hadn’t been awarded to the companies that had submitted the most competitive tenders during the last round of contract reviews, he’d looked into the companies those contracts had gone to, and found a pattern of common ownership.

Aware that contract reviews were conducted by a three person committee of senior officers, that included Sonya Curtis, the head of the agency, he knew there was no way he would be confronting any of them directly. He was intimidated by every one of them, especially Sonya Curtis, who was known among officers at John’s level as ‘The b***h’.

John knew he had to tell someone or he wouldn’t be living up to his obligations as a public servant. After a week of anxious deliberation, he’d decided to escalate his concerns to the Auditor General, which was one of the options available to him in the whistleblowing guidelines. But, because he would be reporting senior officers, he’d decided it would be prudent to discuss his concerns with Pam Watson, his immediate supervisor, just to be sure he hadn’t misunderstood something.

At four o’clock, he put two copies of the document he’d compiled into his bag, picked up the third copy he’d printed for Pam, and walked over to her office.

Pam smiled as he sat down with the document in his lap. ‘So, what’s on your mind, John?’

‘I’m not sure how to say this, but it looks like we might not have done the right thing when awarding some of the big dollar cleaning contracts.’

‘Oh? What makes you think that?’

John shifted in his seat. ‘Well, I thought I’d read some of the contracts I administer, so I had a look on the share drive. I ended up reading some of the tender documents, you know, to see how the whole process works.’ John could feel beads of perspiration forming on his brow. ‘Anyway, I reviewed the documents associated with the cleaning contracts I administer, and it looks like several of those contracts went to companies belonging to the Walker Group, even when they weren’t the most competitive tender.’ John looked up. ‘We’re supposed to accept the most competitive tender, aren’t we?’

Pam leant back into her chair. ‘Do you realise what you’re suggesting?’

‘Yeah, that’s the scary bit. If I’m right, it looks like we have a problem at the top. You know who’s on the contracts committee, don’t you?’

‘That’s a pretty serious allegation to make, John. And, it’s not like you’re experienced in these matters, is it? You’ve only been here a few months.’

Those words hit John like a backhander across the face. He stared at Pam. She didn’t intimidate him like the others.

‘I’ve been working in contracts administration for at least ten years, Pam. It’s what I was doing at Transport before I came here. I think I know what the rules are and I’ve studied the guidelines we’re supposed to be following, so I think I know what I’m talking about.’ John paused to regain his composure. He didn’t want to start an argument. ‘Sometimes a fresh set of eyes sees things that others have missed, but,’ he held his hands up in front of him, ‘I could be wrong. That’s why I thought I’d better discuss it with you before taking my concerns any further.’

‘Wise decision, John. So, what have you got there?’

‘It’s all in here.’ John passed her his document and watched the color drain from her face as she scanned its contents.

‘I don’t have time to study this now but I’ll read it and get back to you as soon as I can. In the meantime, I want you to keep this to yourself. If you’ve read the whistleblower guidelines, which I hope you have, you’ll know they offer you no protection if you leak anything to the media, even if you’re right.’

‘I intend to stick with the guidelines. Wouldn’t look too good if I didn’t, would it?’

‘If I agree with your findings, this will have to be escalated to the Auditor General. On the other hand, though, John,’ Pam flashed him a smile, ‘if I don’t agree with your interpretation of the data, I’ll be advising you to drop this. I’d hate to see you make a career ending mistake simply because you misinterpreted something outside your area of responsibility.’

John felt the wind being sucked from his sails. The tone in her words, along with her body language, told him he wouldn’t be getting any support from her.

‘Look, you’ve done the right thing bringing this to my attention.’ She looked at her watch. ‘I’ll catch up with you on Monday, after I’ve had a chance to study this.’

John returned to his desk and decided that talking to Pam hadn’t been the mistake he’d thought it might be. She obviously didn’t want him to take his concerns any further, despite her words of support, but the look on her face when she’d scanned the report had told him what he’d wanted to know.

While he packed up his workstation, he decided to post a copy of his report to the Auditor General on the way home, and live with the consequences.

Pam slipped John’s document into her briefcase and watched him pack up his workstation and leave for the weekend. She admired him for wanting to know about the contracts he was administering. That was more than any of his predecessors had done. But, she wished he hadn’t been so inquisitive. Now they had a problem they would have to deal with before he did anything. She hoped to God he’d do as she’d asked him and wait for her to get back to him.

As John walked past her office on his way to the elevator lobby, Pam picked up her personal smartphone.

‘Sonya, we have a problem.’