Ramson urges Rajana to retract “unauthorised” comments

Attorney General Charles Ramson is calling on a local consultant, who was hired to work on a judicial project, to retract public statements which he said were “unauthorised.”

Dr Cecil Rajana

Dr. Cecil Rajana recently worked on a project at the Deeds Registry and subsequently commented on it at a press conference. This, Ramson said, was outside of the terms of reference of Rajana’s consultancy and was as a result unauthorised.  “Cecil Rajana is not authorised by me to speak on behalf of any department under [my purview],” Ramson said on Wednesday during a press conference. He said Rajana was given a consultancy which partly concerned the workings of the Deeds Registry and was expected to prepare a report and that only. Stabroek News made several attempts to contact Dr. Rajana but the efforts proved futile.

Ramson said Rajana’s statements at the press conference were made without any executive authority. He said Cabinet is responsible for running the country and the consultant had no authority to speak. “We have written him to that effect”, he added.  He said also that government had hoped Rajana would have done the proper thing and withdrawn what he said with respect to the Deeds Registry.

”…His report concerned the workings of the Registry, but we are yet to pronounce on the report and I take grave offence to anyone infiltrating the territory to which I am assigned,” Ramson charged. He said whatever was disseminated in the press must not be taken as concrete until Cabinet has pronounced on it.  Further, he called on other consultants to follow the procedure in place for government business to be dealt with.