Dear Editor,
Thanks to Livestream many of us in the diaspora get the opportunity to watch parliamentary proceedings live. There were a significant number of us watching as Minister Norton attempted to answer questions from the opposition in connection with the drug bond. Some of us were amazed that the Minister was fumbling for answers that should have been straightforward. It is generally expected that Ministers should be accompanied by their support staff when they are in the Committee of Supply so that they could have access to their expertise. Little did we know that Minister Norton was intentionally misleading the National Assembly; this was after he had already misled the Cabinet. According to Minister Ramjattan “When this matter came before us we were told that we have to pay $19M to New GPC for them to store drugs for us. So we voted for the $12M rental of the Sussex Street bond because it is far less than what New GPC was asking for.” Minister Ramjattan was reported as going on to say, “We were also under the impression that the Sussex Street facility was ready. But of course we found out this was not the case”. This is unacceptable behaviour from Minister Norton.
In response to pressure from the public President Granger set up a three man sub-committee of the Minister’s colleagues to investigate the matter. But this was like trying the devil’s case in hell. No one expected any other outcome than that which was concluded, except that from three experienced lawyers a less puerile set of excuses was expected.
Intentionally misleading the National Assembly (in other words, lying) was unacceptable under the PPP/C government and it must be unacceptable now. Minister Norton should not wait to be fired, he should have resigned immediately; it is the proper thing to do. Yes, to paraphrase Mr Ramjattan’s logic of defence, if the fielder drops a catch the captain may not slap him behind the ear or drive a truck over him, but that may be his last match.
If the President does not remove Minister Norton, the sound of his voice should not be allowed to be heard in the National Assembly again.
Yours faithfully,
Keith Branch
