President declares, “There is no division in Cabinet”
Abena Rockcliffe, January 11, 2016 | By KNews | Filed Under News, Source
President David Granger has refuted claims that his Cabinet is divided and that some Cabinet Members are muzzled out of fear.
During a recent interview, the President said that his Cabinet stands united despite the fact that all members may not share the same view on every issue.
Granger said “all decisions coming out of Cabinet are taken in a consensual manner and Cabinet members are obliged to comply with whatever decision has been taken.”
The President pointed to the fact that obligation to go along with decisions taken forms part of the ministerial responsibilities of his Cabinet Members.
Granger emphasized, “It is not a National Assembly, we do not vote in the Cabinet; once a matter is discussed, there is one position coming out of Cabinet. There is no division in Cabinet.”
The President said that Cabinet members are always free to and are encouraged to make their opinions known “but once a decision is taken it is one decision.”
President David Granger
Kaieteur News was told previously by Cabinet Members who spoke on condition of anonymity that “fear” has made its way into Cabinet to the point where it has sparked division.
One official explained, “Based on the proceedings over the last few weeks, one gets the distinct impression that Cabinet members are not encouraged to criticize their colleagues, whether in or out of Cabinet. An environment is not being encouraged to facilitate that.
“Some colleagues, because of the nature of some of the disagreements in there, do not feel as though they can speak freely without people throwing tantrums, making them feel ostracized.”
It was reported that the situation seemed to have gotten worse since the completion of the forensic audit report on the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). The report which was conducted by Chartered Accountant Anand Goolsarran, had been completed for over a month and the administration had not taken any action.
Cabinet members were given the report to review. Several members of Cabinet had made it known that they were in favour of Government pursuing a case for criminal charges against NICIL’s Chief Executive Officer, Winston Brassington. They indicated that his “acts of corruption against the nation just can’t be pardoned.”
In the forensic audit report on NICIL, Goolsarran recommended that criminal charges and/or disciplinary actions be taken against all those within NICIL responsible for the interception of State revenues totaling $26.858 billion.
The Chartered Accountant had called for NICIL to be liquidated and for the appointment of a Receiver to oversee the liquidation process.
Goolsarran recommended that his report be forwarded to the State Assets Recovery Unit, with a view to recovering any State assets/properties that might have been improperly and illegally transferred to third parties.
He believes that there should be a further independent audit to examine in detail transactions over the last six years, given that the scope of his report covered the period 2001 to May 2015. (Abena Rockcliffe)
