No matter what explanations are provided by the Minister of State Joseph Harmon over his farcical appointment of Mr Brian Tiwari as a Business Advisor to the government, the damage has already been done. And it’s not only to the already bruised image and standing of the minister following his reckless remarks on the hefty pay increases for Cabinet Ministers but also to President Granger, the governing APNU+AFC coalition and Mr Tiwari. President Granger’s swift rescission of Mr Tiwari’s appointment denoted his recognition of the gravity of the mistake that had been made by Minister Harmon and the need for immediate rectification. One would assume therefore that the President himself would have sought an immediate explanation from Minister Harmon on his return from China about the rationale for the appointment of Mr Tiwari and then determine appropriate disciplining of the minister.
President Granger’s revocation of the appointment raises the oft repeated concern about this administration to wit that Minister Harmon has operated as the de facto Prime Minister and believes he has the authority to take actions such as the arbitrary appointment of an advisor to the government and not even in relation to his own portfolio. Is this the manner in which President Granger is marshalling his ministers and Cabinet? Can it really be the case that a minister in the ambit of Cabinet’s collective responsibility can nonchalantly appoint an advisor to the government?
Appointing advisors to the government should be a transparent business. There should be an obvious need complemented by the hiring of a suitable person. When, as in this case, there had been no prior announcement of the appointment and not even colleague Ministers of Minister Harmon were aware, it immediately raises the spectre that the appointment was a sinecure or providing a benefit solely to those involved. Who initiated the process for the advisory role? Was it Mr Harmon or Mr Tiwari? Since his appointment in January this year, did Mr Tiwari tender any business advice to the government and to whom? It doesn’t appear so but the next thing the public finds out is that Messrs Harmon and Tiwari are both in China. Did their business agendas intersect in China and did Mr Tiwari provide any service to the government during this trip? Whatever the answer and considering the swift revocation of Mr Tiwari’s appointment by the President, the public expects a full explanation of all aspects of this mission to China. As things stand, Minister Harmon’s actions raise serious questions about his judgement and he clearly needs to be reined in.
As we have said on several occasions in these columns, the APNU+AFC government entered office in May last year on an upwelling of outrage and concern about the corrupting behaviour of the previous government, its grave lack of transparency in major projects and a disregarding of the public’s right to know essential details of its functioning. This government held itself up to a higher standard and had the enormous benefit of a long stint as a watchdog on the opposition benches. The public therefore has little tolerance for the rank foolishness and suspect behaviour that has begun to issue from various government officials.
Had President Granger’s government lived up to its solemn pre-election commitment to publish a code of conduct for its ministers and MPs and to urgently empower the Integrity Commission then these indiscretions that have surfaced might not have occurred and the man and woman in the street would have had a framework within which to begin judging leading public officials. The excuse given by this government that it needs to have further feedback from stakeholders on the Code of Conduct is arrant nonsense. The code should be issued forthwith if this government wants to preserve its credibility. It should also move swiftly on the Integrity Commission.
Mr Tiwari’s appointment also raised the threat of another affliction that had engulfed the former administration i.e. the uncomfortable closeness between the government and powerful business interests for no good reason. Surely Minister Harmon should have been vigilant enough to know that Mr Tiwari is a major stakeholder in the public procurement system. That is good reason in itself for any minister to maintain a healthy distance lest there be any unfortunate inference or imputation. Further, over the last decade or so, some of the projects that Mr Tiwari’s company, BK International has helmed have ended up in major disputation. Indeed, upon this government taking up office in May, its Ministry of Communities immediately clashed with Mr Tiwari over the state of the Haags Bosch landfill site on the East Bank and that very public row led to court action and the prospect of even more contentious times. Not that these matters in themselves should have automatically disqualified Mr Tiwari from consideration as an adviser to the government but they surely should have given Minister Harmon great pause for thought and consultation. This clearly did not happen and leaves an unpalatable taste.
It was also not a prudent decision for the government to enable businessmen to donate to the President’s boats and bicycles project for schoolchildren. As important as this project is to President Granger it should be funded by the state and not have to rely on sundry donations from Mr Tiwari and other businessmen and women precisely because of the competing interests and conflicting situations that can arise. Many are willing to contribute to these causes but in the majority of cases with an eye on a much larger prize. Patronage has it merits but in the Guyana of today, considering the excesses that prevailed under the previous government, it requires careful examination and caution lest the administration finds itself undermined and its degrees of freedom limited.
