The Ministry of the Presidency today condemned charges filed against Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence and former Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton by PPP/C MPs.

A statement by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon follows:

Statement by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon on PPP’s shameless attempt to draw attention away from malfeasance charges against Singh and Brassington

In a move that is a clear attempt to draw attention away from the malfeasance charges that have been filed against former Minister of Finance, Mr. Ashni Singh and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL), Mr. Winston Brassington, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) today filed private criminal charges against two government ministers.

 

The charges that were filed today against the current and former Minister of Public Health is the PPP’s cowardly attempt to draw public attention away from its own sordid record of corruption while in office.  The PPP is aware that more charges are soon to be filed against high public officials who served under the Jagdeo and Ramotar administrations. These charges are a result of months of intense investigation by Commissions of Inquiries and evidence gathered by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force.

The nuisance value of today’s legal action is just another attempt by a political party; the PPP that is aware that investigations have revealed that during its tenure the nation was losing billions of dollars each year through procurement fraud and other corrupt activities by senior public officials.

The Guyanese public will not be swayed by the legal shenanigans of the PPP, which, in effect, make a mockery of the legal system.  This Government will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure that those who held public office and engaged in malfeasance while in office are brought to justice.  We are sure that in the matter before the court the actions of our ministers will be vindicated.