Joe Harmon is still under citizens’ microscope

Dear Editor,
Minister of State Joseph Harmon’s ill-fated trip to China has definitely stirred more than a national discussion; it has brought unlikely information providers out of the woodworks seeking to clarify what is obviously a confusing narrative.
Prior to Minister Harmon’s trip to China, Guyanese have been repeatedly fed a storyline that NICIL sold Guyana Government’s 20% shares inGT&T to Chinese company, Datang Telecom (H.K). We were told that DatangTelecom (H.K) paid US$25m up front and would pay off the outstanding balance ofUS$5m over two years.
Like so many, I tried to keep up with this subject matter because the sale was deemed highly suspicious and a slap in the face of Guyanese, but especially GT&T employees who expressed an interest in buying the shares. I just cannot recall reading of any Hong Kong Golden Telecom being mentioned as a purchasing partner with Beijing-based Datang Telecom (H.K), and would welcome newspaper references in Guyana showing this connection.
Can Mr. Anil Nandlall (or Mr. Donald Ramotar) provide incontrovertible evidence showing that Datang Telecom (H.K) and Hong Kong Telecom (HK) are the same (whether state-owned or private-owned) and that these two PPPites are not merely contributing to the confusion surrounding who the actual buyers are of the GT&T shares? In the meantime, it is still too soon to know from documented evidence whether these two men really know the status of the outstanding US$5m.
Given Chinese companies’ penchant for corruption and secretiveness, it is virtually impossible to ask those Chinese companies to help shed light on any deals struck between those companies and the PPP regime or this coalition government.
That aside, Minister Harmon has proven, in the eleven short months of the coalition government’s life, that he is a polarizing political figure and a lightning rod for controversy. Unless President David Granger reins him in very quickly, he could prove to be the Albatross around the coalition regime’s neck.
It remains a mystery to many of us following this story that Minister Harmon appointed Mr. Brian Tiwari as a Business Advisor in January, this year, unbeknownst to his boss, President Granger, and then weeks later traveled with Mr. Tiwari and others, to China on ‘government business’. If it weren’t for Kaieteur News, which has been in the forefront for over a decade and a half as a responsible and robust Fourth Estate player, we probably would never have known what we now know.
But even now, we still don’t know all the facts, because when President Granger was confronted about Minister Harmon and Mr. Tiwari traveling together, the President explained that, as far as he knew, Minister Harmon went seeking information on payment of the balance of the US$5m Datang owed the Guyana Government. Minister Harmon returned to Guyana and not only failed to keep his promise to answer all questions arising from the Tiwari appointment but failed to explain to Guyanese the true status of the US$5m.
Yes, we have been told that the money was paid, and this much was echoed by Natural resources Minister Raphael Trotman, who said recently that Minister Trotman found documents that showed the money was paid. But we still do not know whether the documents showed to whom the money was paid and when it was paid or into which bank the money was deposited.
The local media should now demand of the coalition government that it presents copies of the documents Minister Harmon has found, because if the date on them shows the money was paid before May 11, 2015, it would then mean the PPP regime, but especially Mr. Winston Brassington, misled Guyanese. It would also mean Minister Harmon did not do his homework by having Datang (or Hong Kong Telecom) fax or e-mail copies of the same documents to Georgetown before wasting a trip with a seemingly large entourage to China. It cannot show a date after May 11, 2015, because that would definitely up the pressure on Minister Harmon to step down!
Editor, this US$5m belongs to the people of Guyana, making it public funds, and for this reason alone there can be no letting up by the media in demanding the coalition government comes clean about the whereabouts of this money. Until and unless this happens, speculation will dominate the national discussion on the subject matter, including questions about whether the money was actually paid while Minister Harmon was in China or whether the money changed hands among those who traveled with Minister Harmon.
Records show that Mr. Tiwari acquired prime real estate lands for housing development, which he then sold to Chinese company, Baishanlin. That company reportedly did not pay all the money and owed Mr.Tiwari. That company was also reportedly responsible for providing the plane flight for Minister Harmon and entourage. Was Mr. Tiwari paid, while in China, the balance Baishanlin owed on the lands it acquired from him?
Records also show that Mr. Tiwari successfully sued the PPP regime for over US$300,000 allegedly owed his company for its management of Haags Bosch dumpsite. He was not paid by the PPP regime after winning the suit, but appeared to have been negotiating a settlement with the coalition government when it was inadvertently reported he had reached a settlement for US$5m, which amount far surpassed the US$300,000+ he claimed was owed him.
In closing, I think that Mr. Tiwari’s presence in China as part of Minister Harmon’s entourage is raising questions and fueling tons of speculation. He may well be the key figure in that controversial trip. However, since public funds are involved, Guyanese deserve the right to know what happened to the US$5m in GT&T shares.
 Emile Mervin