Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge who gave up his British citizenship following the Caribbean Court of Justice’s ruling on dual citizenship and who President David Granger created a Foreign Secretary post for is no longer with the ministry after “receiving a letter” over a month ago, sources close to him say.
His separation comes even as Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Karen Cummings informed this newspaper that the president thanked Greenidge for his service but she does not believe that his name was on “a list” of persons who were asked to serve again, should the APNU+AFC win the 2020 elections.
This newspaper was told that Greenidge was given a letter from government over a month ago and that he was not pleased with its contents and had since then not been seen at his office or the ministry.
However, sources say that he was invited to meet with the President sometime to discuss his role going forward should Granger be re-elected after the current GECOM recount of votes.
Stabroek News has repeatedly reached out to Greenidge since March 11th of this year to no avail. Calls and messages to his mobile numbers were not responded to. This newspaper was told by sources close to him that he “just wants to listen to his Jazz and think for a while”.
Greenidge’s portfolio as Foreign Secretary saw him still given ministerial ranking and comparable remuneration but he could not be present at Cabinet meetings. He was also put in charge of border matters and was understudied by his successor.
The issue of MPs with dual citizenship came in for scrutiny once again following the December 21st 2018 vote by former government parliamentarian Charrandass Persaud, then an APNU+AFC MP, which resulted in the opposition PPP/C’s no-confidence motion against government being declared passed by 33 to 32 votes.
Following the contention over the vote, Compton Reid, a private citizen, filed a court action that challenged the validity of Persaud’s election as an MP due to his dual citizenship, and the legality of his vote on the motion. This had raised questions about parliamentarians on both sides of the House as according to Article 155 (1) (a) of the Constitution, “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who is, by virtue of his or her own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.”
Four ministers, including Greenidge, who held dual citizenship resigned and President David Granger indicated that they would be kept on to serve as the law did not bar this. Government had reminded that the law does not bar dual citizens from government service.
Greenidge was then appointed Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with responsibility for the Department of Frontiers and Territorial Integrity and the Department of Trade and Economic Cooperation.
His appointment in the frontiers division and with responsibility for territorial integrity was seen as important, given the volatile situation in neighbouring Venezuela and the border controversy case which Guyana has ongoing at the International Court of Justice.
Cummings, who was then a minister within the Ministry of Public Health was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and acknowledged that she had no foreign affairs experience. “’It’s a learning curve for me and I look forward to working and making myself available and to serve with distinction,” she had said at her swearing in.
Then, she had also said she would work along with Greenidge and had much to learn from him. “I still think that he can be my coach. It’s a new area and so I look forward to working with him,” she had said.
Cummings was asked by Stabroek News about the Foreign Secretary’s employment status at her ministry and said that while she was 97% percent sure he was no longer there, she needed to check a list of persons who were listed to continue employment, to be sure.
“Well. I have to go back and check the form. We have a list of names. What happens is the President stays in until another one, until another president is sworn in. And also, [at] the parliament there is a list of names that continues until the next ministers is sworn in. I don’t know if I have it on me right now. I saw it just the other day. Could I get back to you on this? Let me just double check with the list? Because there is a list, there is a list. I should have it somewhere. I am just going to double check with the list because we had a list coming from the parliament to say who are the ministers,” she said.
Told that the newspaper was enquiring of Greenidge’s status as Foreign Secretary, she replied, “I know. I don’t know if his name was in the list. Let me just double check it. I don’t think so but let me just double check it,” she said.
Dr. Cummings also added, “I think it was in the newspapers too. It was in the newspaper. I don’t know you can type in Google.”
Questioned about the newspaper reference, she replied, “These are the list of persons who will continue even though we were interim and all these things. There was a list. I saw it in the papers as well.”
Cummings was told that there are currently public assertions that the letter Greenidge was given two months ago was a termination of services letter and that this newspaper wanted clarity. She would not affirm or deny. Instead, she said, “Well! Elections came as long as elections came, if you want to be bold, I mean, how do I say? I mean the President would have thanked all of us. I mean we didn’t know it [the elections] would have dragged on for this much. So, the elections came. So, what if you had sworn in new ministers? So, the (President), in his right, would have thanked everybody for working and so on but we continued working and so on. I mean you can’t leave the place like that. You have some void to fill. I mean he would have thanked the last administration; he would have thanked everybody. I just want to double check the list. I mean I have an answer but I want to check.”
It is still unclear what list Dr. Cummings was referring to and while she promised on Tuesday she would check and get back to the newspaper with the answer, she never did. When contacted again, she informed that she had not “gotten around” to checking the list and that she was busy at a meeting and would return the call with the information.
However, up to press time she had not done so. “I have an answer but I just want to double check and make sure. I don’t want to leave 97 [percent clarity] and not the 100. Let me get the three as well,” she said.
Cummings was at the centre of a major diplomatic gaffe on March 5th when in the midst of rising tensions over the general elections she threatened to withdraw the accreditation of foreign observers. The government issued a statement shortly after expressing regret at what it said was a “misunderstanding”.
