GNCSC head to sue govt. for defamation, libelous statements

Jan 25, 2015 News

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…said there was a concerted effort to sabotage Civil Society Summit

 

Initiator of the Guyana National Civil Society Council (GNCSC) Dr. Phillip Mozart Thomas has promised legal action against the government for what he said were untruthful statements made against him and the recently formed GNCSC.
Dr. Thomas is claiming that libelous and defamatory statements were said and written by the government as they sought to discredit his academic and personal achievements. Thomas who also chairs the Guyana National Council Public Policy (GNCPP) has hired a battery of lawyers to address the matter.
He said that legal documents are currently being drafted to be served on the government. The GNCPP made its public debut in early 2014 with an agenda to get the civil arm of Guyana mobilized. The GNCPP leader had financed several meetings and other events to get the local body started.
Dr. Thomas had called on international agencies and representatives and met with Western diplomats based here in Guyana and other prominent local bodies.
He commenced work towards the establishment of a Civil Society Council, hence the GNCSC which is made up of representatives from some 400 organisations; local and international.
The agenda is to make the local society better involved in the country’s political environment. A conference was then organised to bring the various institutions together to form the Council.
This huge conference was held at the Guyana International Conference Centre at Liliendaal where hundreds of persons were expected to attend. Invitations had been sent to the government and several other prominent organisations and individuals.
However, the government ignored the invitation and sought to discredit Thomas and his initiative. An advisory out of the Office of the President (OP) warned citizens to stay away from the conference stating that Thomas is of “shady character”.
The public missive said that OP was unaware of the existence of and the locus standi of the organisation in Guyana. They said, too, that “many of the persons and organisations whose names have appeared either as speakers, and to whom invitations were sent, are unaware of the reason why their names were published giving the impression that they are supportive of the December 17, 2014 event, when this is not the case.”
“Further,” the missive stated, “it has been brought to the attention of the Office of the President that qualifications Mr. Thomas purports to possess are highly suspicious. Research has revealed that the institutions where Mr. Thomas purported to have received his qualifications are unknown institutions, and lack well established bona fides.”
The government also said that Thomas is known to have leanings in favour of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) as he was one of the aspirants who had publicly declared an interest in replacing Robert Corbin as Leader of the PNC.
They said further that Thomas is known to have questionable international connections from which funding is being given for the purpose of the specific event at the Guyana International Conference Centre. “Based on the above, the public is urged to disassociate itself from this farcical event and not to participate,” the OP statement concluded.
Dr. Thomas said he is deeply concerned at the lengths to which the government would go to destroy an initiative that is directly set at benefitting the country; citizens in particular. Dr. Thomas dismissed the government’s statement made against his qualifications and connections and is bent on clarifying the false image painted.
He said that not only did the government attempt to destroy his image, but they also casted a negative light on the Council, the people involved and what it set out to do.
The legal action will also see the government being held responsible for their violation of the Constitution, specifically Article 13, which speaks about the country’s leadership being bound by law to support any civil organization.
The government had stated also that Thomas owed some $4M for the use of the Conference Centre and the service provided.
Another news agency said to be closely aligned with the government reported that a bank cheque provided by Thomas was invalid since Scotia Bank had informed the Centre’s management that his account was frozen.
Thomas stated that the GM was advised that the cheque was a security hold and the account was indeed frozen. He said he has not settled the account because that will be dealt with legally since it is his view that there were concerted efforts to “sabotage” the event.
Thomas said after confirming the availability of the Centre with its General Manager, Nancomar Ramdial, a quotation was received detailing cost to use the building to the tune of $1,140,000.00. Discussions about discount and other matters were held.
He then outlined a list of events leading up to the summit, including having to reschedule summit dates requested by the Conference.
He stated that days before the event, the building’s GM asked him to completely shift the summit to another location since there were problems with the electrical and air conditioning system which would not be operational in time for the conference since the parts had to be flown in from overseas.
Later that same day, Thomas said, he was further told that there was a bigger problem since the main central water supply to the GICC broke underground and there was no water available in the building.
Despite proposing that the body would bring Port-a-Potties, portable air conditioning systems and a water tank, the GM informed him that he would be writing an advisory to say that the building was not available.
The following day, Thomas claimed, he received another call from the GM telling him to forget all that he had stated the day before about the unavailability of the Conference Centre.
He was asked to come to the Centre to finalise his arrangements. Thomas said that a cheque for $3.3 million was given to the GM. A balance of over $900,000 remained. This sum represented food, use of the building and other arrangements. However the fee to use the Centre was to be paid by a named prominent local businessman.
Later that day, Thomas continued, he received a call drawing his attention to an advisory OP had sent out about him being of ‘shady character’. He then started to receive phone calls from several prominent persons who informed him that they would not be attending the summit until OP’s statements were addressed.
In a meeting with the GM, Thomas said he was told that the named businessman, nor any other supporter or sponsor would be paying for the Centre. After questioning the GM on the actions of his agency and the government, Thomas said that he later received a letter requesting the full payment for the use of the centre.
He said that the police were also called in, but they advised that he get a lawyer to respond to the matter since it was a civil one.
When asked why he took so long to address this matter, Thomas explained that it was a strategic move after discussions at the Council level, not to respond as to not get involved in a “tit for tat” with the government. “That is not what we are about. We are using the system of discipline to seek redress and that is the legal system.”
Dr. Thomas said that he would be hosting a press conference during the week to address this matter further and several others.

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