Minister of Social Cohesion Amna Ally yesterday defended under-fire Minister of State Joe Harmon saying that his being on the job is testimony that President David Granger believes he is not corrupt.
Harmon has remained mum on the allegations surrounding him and after previously saying that he would issue a statement, has now indicated that he has nothing to say. He was greeted by supporters holding placards as he made his way to address a post-Local Government Election meeting held yesterday in Region Three.
“Had the Minister of State done wrong, he would have been gone” Harmon’s Press Secretary Malika Ramsey quoted Ally as telling attendees at the meeting for councillors of Region 3. Ramsey quoted the comment in a post on her Facebook page.
‘Harmon is not corrupt,’ ‘We stand by Granger and Harmon’ and ‘the Minister of State Joseph Harmon is not corrupt,’ were some of slogans on the placards the group of about 12 persons held up as Harmon arrived at the meeting in Vreed-en-Hoop.
A story published in the March 31 edition of the Kaieteur News alleged that Harmon attempted to halt the seizure of two vehicles owned by Baishanlin which is under investigation for tax evasion. The seizure was being conducted by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in collaboration with the Special Organised Crime Unit.
The claim is that officials were preparing to execute the seizure when Harmon contacted them instructing that the vehicles not be removed and that the company be left alone. The seizure was eventually done last week Tuesday.
Harmon is also under fire for appointing businessman Brian Tiwari as a business advisor.
After this was publicly revealed, the appointment was revoked by Granger. In defending the appointment, Harmon is reported to have told 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.”
The Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc. (TIGI) viewed this statement as a confirmation from the Minister of State 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.
Ramsey said Harmon was not moved by critics and will say nothing else on the matter. “Minister of State Joseph Harmon is not concerned that the current organized campaign to damage his reputation will affect the way he performs his duties as minister.
Minister Harmon says he has always felt that it was the people who elected him, and the people who elected the Coalition Government, and it is the people who decide whether or not that government is performing – not one or two newspaper columnist or one or two persons who write newspaper articles,” Ramsey wrote.
“The Minister of State says the President has spoken on the matter definitively, and he respects the president’s judgement therefore he (the Minister of State) need not say more,” she added.
Granger last week said that TIGI’s claims against Harmon and the government over the appointment of advisors is “outrageous” but he did not shed much light on the raging controversy sparked by the revelation that Tiwari was enlisted to provide advice to his administration.
“It’s an outrageous statement. I can’t accept blanket criticism based on one incident,” Granger said on the Public Interest television programme, which was recorded on Thursday and aired Friday.
After it was revealed that Harmon had stealthily appointed Tiwari, Granger’s office announced the rescinding of the appointment the next day, saying that Tiwari’s services were not needed. Ironically, both Harmon and Tiwari were in China at that point.
The President advised TIGI to seek an audience with the minister. “I would ask TIGI to meet with Minister Harmon before going to the press,” Granger asserted.
It is unclear now, given that Harmon has said he will remain mum on the issues, if he will speak to TIGI.
In terms of Harmon’s interference in the work of the GRA with respect to Baishanlin, Granger said he had discussions with Minster of Finance Winston Jordan, under whose purview the GRA falls, and that there should not in future be an issue of any minister other than Jordan dealing with the GRA.
That statement appears to imply that there was interference with the GRA. Neither the government nor Harmon has denied that there was interference.
