Minister of State Joseph Harmon has confirmed that the invitation to the People’s Progressive Party to engage in inclusive governance was issued in his capacity as APNU’s General Secretary.
Harmon told Stabroek News that he wrote on behalf of the APNU+AFC Coalition adding, “Whether it came from the APNU+AFC or it came from the Government of Guyana, Mr Rohee’s responsibility to the people who voted for the PPP is to respond and let us get engaged in these conversations.”
At a PPP press conference on Monday, General Secretary of the PPP Clement Rohee had said that the letter meant little as it was not signed on behalf of the government. “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 said yesterday that any engagement to speak would be positive and charged that Rohee was attempting to deflect the invitation by looking at the messenger rather than the message. He said, “Mr Rohee could say whatever he wants the fact of the matter is we have reached out to them and we are still waiting on a response.”
Asked by the Stabroek News why a letter would be issued by the coalition instead of by the government of the day which would legitimise the request for inclusive governance, Harmon said he was dealing with a political party in the PPP and that there was no Leader of the Opposition as yet. He said that under the previous dispensation he would respond as the General Secretary of the APNU when engaged by the PPP.
The PPP had long been criticised by analysts for blurring the line between party politics and the role the party plays in government.
The APNU and the AFC have in the past highlighted the PPP’s blurring of roles, as such the move by Harmon has analysts questioning why this was seen as appropriate.
When Stabroek News had spoken to Harmon about the letter which was sent to the PPP on June 1, he spoke as the Minister of State and never indicated that the letter was not issued in that capacity.
He had told Stabroek News that the letter represented a formal request from the government to engage in inclusive governance, which played off President David Granger’s first address to the nation in which he said, “I extend the arm of friendship to former president Donald Ramotar… to join this movement of national unity.
“The aim is real meaningful discussions… towards the governance of the country which means all the way from the top and the RDCs and the NDCs, the whole structure of government,” he said.
Harmon had said that the letter was brief and without specifics, but it outlined the government’s intention to hear what the PPP had to say and contribute to a more unified and cohesive government structure. “The actual agency will be developed by both of us,” he said while adding that the government did not want to send the PPP a letter outlining its expectations for an opposition party as that would negate what the inclusionary process is about and what the government is attempting to facilitate at a formal level.
