Minister of State Joseph Harmon says contractor Brian Tiwarie is one of 34 persons who were appointed as honorary ministerial advisors.
Breaking his silence on the controversial appointment, which has attracted widespread criticism, Harmon, in a statement issued last evening by the Ministry of the Presidency, said Tiwarie was issued with an instrument of appointment based on the recommendation of the General Secretary of APNU. Harmon is the General Secretary of APNU.
“I was subsequently advised by the President, who was not aware of all the appointees, that he was not in agreement with this one and that the appointment should be rescinded on March 24, 2016. I agreed with the decision of His Excellency and his rationale for rescinding the appointment,” the statement added.
Harmon’s statement did not include a rationale for the specific appointment of Tiwari, who has said he was appointed as a personal advisor on business to the minister and not to the government.
In defending the appointment, Harmon was previously reported as telling Kaieteur News, “we have issued several instruments like these to persons both from the APNU and the AFC side and you would notice that I have signed it for many persons who have helped us in the campaign and those who have the capacity to help us further.” As a result, Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI) saw his statement as a confirmation that well-paying and prestigious jobs and other privileges were up for sale during the 2015 elections campaign in which the party stood on an anti-corruption and transparency platform and that since the election the government has been using its position to employ and reward, out of state resources, its supporters and donors. This, according to TIGI, constituted corruption both on the part of Harmon and the government. Tiwarie’s instrument of appointment was dated January 19, 2016. However, there was no public announcement of his appointment until it was reported by the Kaieteur News last month.
Within a day of Tiwarie’s appointment being made public, President David Granger rescinded it, saying that his services were not needed. At that time, both Harmon and Tiwarie were in China. Tiwarie has since said that although they travelled together, his recent private business trip to China merely coincided with Harmon’s official visit.
In his statement yesterday, Harmon said that after last May’s general elections, where the APNU+AFC coalition won office, many persons who “indicated their deep interest in assisting” the government and fulfilling its campaign promises were appointed to various positions.
Some of those persons, he noted, were not interested in formal employment or receiving remuneration but were willing to contribute.
He added that after some consultation, during which the Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan and Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman gave advice, it was agreed that such persons should be appointed as Honorary Ministerial Advisors and that a Certificate entitled “Instrument of Appoint-ment … Ministerial Adviser” would be issued.
Harmon said that over the period October 6, 2015, to February 8, 2016, 34 persons were identified on the recommendation of the Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), the General Secretary of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the General Secretary of A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the instruments were accordingly issued. Some of these appointments, particularly in the Diaspora, received wide publicity, he further said. Tiwarie, in a statement on Monday, said his efforts in the capacity of Harmon’s personal advisor on business were pro bono, while blaming a “political struggle” in government for the controversy surrounding his appointment.
“The fact of the matter is that Minister Harmon ‘appointed’ Mr Tiwarie as his personal advisor on business. This he is entitled to do and by virtue of Mr Tiwarie’s business acumen, such an ‘appointment’ can be seen as nothing else but [a] legitimate decision,” the statement said. It added that the businessman’s efforts in this capacity are pro bono.
Tiwarie also pointed out that other ministers, including Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, had made several such appointments and as it relates to those there is an absence of a sustained campaign and public outcry.
“Maybe in the interest of fairness the President should revoke all of those too and for the very reason given when he acted impulsively in revoking the appointment at a time when Minister Harmon was out of the country. It may well be that in quieter time the President may have an opportunity to reflect upon the propriety of impulsive decision making,” he said.
The statement said that Tiwarie’s relationship with Harmon predates APNU, the general elections and his appointment as Minister. Tiwarie said that a political struggle “between various elements in high places” is underway and his appointment is being used as ammunition.
“We strongly believe that when politicians are at war, they must avoid dragging in innocent parties, unrelated to their apparent power struggles,” the statement said.
On Sunday, citing the Tiwarie appointment, APNU’s coalition partner the AFC said that the concentration of various powers in Harmon was the key reason for difficulties that have flared up around the APNU+AFC government and it called for his powers to be pared.
