AFC was consulted … on BK’s appointment-Harmon
Minister of State Joe Harmon
MINISTER of State Joseph Harmon did not make the decision all by himself to appoint businessman Brian Tiwarie as a ministerial advisor to Government but through consultation with the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR). According to Mr Harmon in a statement, after the General and Regional Elections of 2015, many persons, who indicated their deep interest in assisting the Government and fulfilling its campaign promises, were appointed to various positions.
Businessman Brian Tiwarie
He noted that some of those persons were not interested in formal employment or receiving remuneration, but were willing to contribute.
“After some consultation, during which the Minister of Public Security (Khemraj Ramjattan) and the Minister of Natural Resources (Raphael Trotman) gave advice, it was agreed that such persons should be appointed as Honorary Ministerial Advisors and that a certificate entitled ‘Instrument of Appointment… Ministerial Adviser’ would be issued.
Both Ramjattan and Trotman are founding members of the AFC. Several senior members of that party in the coalition had also said they were unaware of Tiwarie’s appointment.
However, Harmon in his statement added: “Over the period October 6, 2015 to February 8, 2016, 34 persons were identified on the recommendation of the Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), the General Secretary of the Peoples National Congress (PNC) and the General Secretary of A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the instruments were accordingly issued. Some of these appointments, particularly in the diaspora, received wide publicity. Mr Brian Tiwarie, upon the recommendation of the General Secretary of the APNU, was one such person identified and issued with an instrument,” Mr Harmon explained.
At a recent retreat to review the party’s performance, the AFC, a key ally in the coalition Government, contended that the current difficulties which the Government has encountered in the continuing revelations arising out of the appointment of Mr Tiwarie and related issues have their roots in the concentration of the powers of the office of the Cabinet Secretary, the Minister of State in the Ministry of the Presidency, and the effective Head of the Presidential Secretariat in a single person.
But President David Granger has since defended the responsibilities of Mr Harmon, pointing out that the AFC did not object to it at the consultation in which that and other decisions were made.
Subsequently to the appointment of Tiwarie, the Minister of State was advised by President David Granger, who was not aware of all the appointees that he (Granger) was not in agreement with the appointment.
APNU+AFC coalition supporters on learning of the appointment criticised the administration, with many contending that the decision was a poor one. Mr Tiwarie was criticised by the APNU when it was in opposition for work it deemed not up to standard.
On his part, Mr Tiwarie in a statement had accused Glenn Lall, publisher of Kaieteur News, of having a personal vendetta against him. Kaieteur News had broken the story about Tiwarie’s appointment.
“The fact of the matter is that Minister Harmon ‘appointed’ Mr Tiwarie as his personal advisor on business. This he is entitled to do, and by virtue of Mr Tiwarie’s business acumen, such an ‘appointment’ can be seen as nothing else but legitimate decision. Needless to say, Mr Tiwarie’s efforts in this capacity are pro bono,” the statement from Tiwari said.
President Granger, in noting his disagreement with the appointment of the businessman, ordered that his appointment be rescinded and this was done on March 24.
“I agreed with the decision of His Excellency and his rationale for rescinding the appointment,” Harmon concluded in his statement.
