Just shy of a year since the APNU+AFC coalition swept the PPP/C out of office, the AFC and the government face delicate talks over how to address serious differences and contain a burgeoning scandal around Minister of State Joseph Harmon without undermining their February 14, 2015 alliance.
The AFC appeared to take President David Granger and its senior partner APNU by surprise when it issued a statement from a retreat on Sunday saying that the concentration of various powers in Harmon was responsible for the problems that had flared up in recent days around the government. Harmon has been beset by a string of allegations pertaining to his appointment of businessman Brian Tiwarie as a business adviser, interfering with the work of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and a still-to-be-explained trip to China where he had contact with representatives of controversial logging company, Baishanlin.
The AFC promised to raise the matter of Harmon’s powers at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting and did so but