The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) yesterday announced that former President David Granger would not be accepting President Irfaan Ali’s invitation to a “working lunch” on Tuesday at State House with three other former presidents as the function appeared to be aimless.
According to a press statement from the party, Granger has responded to the invitation with a recommendation that the meeting be deferred until several “important issues [are] satisfactorily settled.”
According to the PNCR, Granger “felt that it would be a blunder to ignore the legitimate concerns of a significant section of the population and the aspirations of the majority of our people, especially those enduring the privations of the pandemic.”
He stressed that there is public concern about certain governmental actions – including the high rates of deaths as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; unwarranted dismissals of public servants; harassment of Elections Com-mission officials and human rights violations.
He highlighted that the letter he received from Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira neither explained amply the purpose of the intended meeting nor recommended an agenda for examination.
“There was no indication of the preparation that would be needed, the relevance of the engagement to government policies and the outcome that would be expected from deliberations. The President’s intention on the other hand, according newspaper reports was to generate ideas on ‘Guyana’s development’”, the statement noted.
Granger is credited with declaring in the statement that “It would be a huge public disappointment for the proposed high-level meeting to take place, hurriedly, in an unorganized, unplanned manner and without a predictable prospect of progress or success.”
The December 15th lunch was also to be attended by former presidents Sam Hinds, Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar.
Teixeira was not impressed with the pronouncements by the PNCR and Granger yesterday.
In an invited comment, she told Stabroek News that the reported response from the PNCR is like receiving a dinner invitation and declaring you won’t attend until you first see the menu – “it’s rather rude”.
“I haven’t received anything from Mr Granger advising me that he’s not attending…he received an official letter and I expect at some point to receive an official answer…Mr Granger was invited as a former president. He holds a status that is beyond party partisanship. It is not unusual for a sitting president to invite a former president to meet,” Teixeira stressed, before explaining that the current government via Cabinet decision facilitated his recent travel to Cuba because of the status he holds.
She noted for the record that while in office Presi-dent Granger regularly engaged with then Opposi-tion leader Jagdeo via phone, letter or through open invitation.
Asked if the meeting is likely to be delayed in light of Granger’s response, Teixeira said that President Ali would make that decision.
“It is the president’s meeting…I can’t speak for the President. The president in good faith arranged the meeting. He felt it was a golden opportunity. He will decide what he will do,” the minister explained.
Granger’s position has, however, found favour with his coalition partner, the Alliance for Change.
Speaking during a virtual press conference yesterday AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan said it was within Granger’s purview to set preconditions.
“He received the invitation and set preconditions. Let us see if Ali can meet them,” Ramjattan stated.
Party executive Raphael Trotman added that while it is important that leaders meet, it is also important that there be a clear agenda so that the meeting is more than a photo opportunity.
Stalemate
While seeking to engage Granger, Ali has chosen not to engage with Leader of the Opposition Joseph Harmon on any matter until the opposition stops saying his government is illegal.
Asked on Thursday by Stabroek News to provide an update on cooperation between his office and that of Harmon’s, Ali demanded an update on Harmon’s opinion of his government.
“Can you update me on whether Mr Harmon has changed his position on the way he sees the government?” Ali asked minutes after committing to a holistic approach to “reconciliation and inclusivity”.
The president has previously declared that Harmon must first “fix the misleading narrative” he has provided to the people of Guyana before there is any engagement.
“Mr Harmon must be honest enough to go out to the public and say the PPP has been legitimately elected and it is the recognized Government of Guyana and then we’ll talk,” Ali had told reporters in October.
One of the matters requiring engagement is the appointment of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice, which is more than 10 years overdue.
Article 127 (1) of Guyana’s Constitution stipulates that “the Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall each be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the leader of the opposition.”
In relation to the appointments, Ali said “that is a process and that process has not started.”
Attorney General Anil Nandlall later told media that it was “unfortunate” that Harmon continues to hold the “strange and bizarre position that the government is illegal.”
“It is a process that requires both sides to meet and work together…I hope that an engagement can begin with the president and leader of the opposition…the quicker [Harmon] jumps off that ridiculous horse that he he’s riding it’s better for the country and he can with respect sit with the president and begin constructive engagement,” Nandlall proclaimed, while adding that since Harmon views Ali’s appointment as illegal then he is likely to ignore a letter from the president.
When reporters highlighted the fact that Harmon had written to the Ali as early as September 24, Nandlall said he had not seen the correspondence.
“Harmon can’t on the one hand for propagandistic purposes when he is at his pulpit want to call the government illegal and expects to write the government at his whim and fancy. It does not work like that. This thing is built on mutual respect and comity of relations,” he added.
At present Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards is the Chancellor (ag) and Justice Roxane George SC is the Chief Justice (ag). They were appointed in March 2017 as part of a temporary arrangement between Granger and Jagdeo. Two judges’ predecessors, Justices Carl Singh and Ian Chang, both retired without being substantively appointed Chancellor and Chief Justice, respectively.
