PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee has denied that an invite from Minister of State Joseph Harmon to engage on inclusive governance was issued on behalf of the government.
At the party’s weekly press briefing at Freedom House yesterday, Rohee said the letter to the PPP from Harmon was sent in his capacity as General Secretary of APNU instead of in his capacity as the Minister of State.
“I am in receipt of the letter, so I know what the letter said. The letter was signed by Joseph Harmon, the General Secretary of the APNU from 61 Hadfield Street Werk-en-Rust,” Rohee said after Stabroek News sought clarification.
Harmon on Sunday said the letter, which was sent on Monday of last week, was a preliminary address to set the stage for terms of reference which would dictate how the opposition and the government would engage each other on inclusionary governance.
Harmon was speaking in his capacity as Minister of State of the coalition government.
Rohee did not wish to further engage with questions related to the invitation. However, during his initial statement prior to being questioned by members of the media, Rohee said, “all the talk about national unity from the APNU+AFC Coalition means nothing.”
He charged that the new administration is pursuing a witch hunt within the public service and beyond, while noting that there have been multiple dismissals that were made with immediate effect. He said this was proof of the government lack of intention for meaningful dialogue.
Rohee accused the government ministers of “intruding” in the affairs of constitutional bodies and overstepping its authority.
On Sunday, Harmon told Stabroek News, “We have said that we want to join a government of national unity and inclusionary governance… the letter was to say let’s talk and let’s establish some sort of ground rules for how we will engage with each other and to understand how they see themselves in the process.”
He further stated that the coalition does not aim to dictate the interaction with the PPP. “The aim is real meaningful discussions… towards the governance of the country,” he said, while noting that the actual terms for the engagement would need to be determined by both sides in good faith.
