That shady bond deal... We are humans, not a Cabinet of Angels; we will make mistakes -Ramjattan

That shady bond deal… We are humans, not a Cabinet of Angels; we will make mistakes -Ramjattan

Aug 25, 2016 News

Public Health Minister, Dr. George Norton

Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan

By Kiana Wilburg

“Think of it like a game of cricket. One man drops de ball at a crucial point in the game. Wuh de Captain must do? Box the man behind he head, tell he walk off the field and call a truck to drive over him? No. We are humans and we will blunder. We are not a Cabinet of Angels.”
This was the perspective of Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan as he considered the controversial Sussex Street bond deal which has, as of late, earned the coalition administration nothing but harsh criticisms.
The bond is owned by Lawrence Singh of Linden Holdings Inc.
Ramjattan, the Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), said that while some critics expect the party to be “unashamedly outspoken on the issue” and to give Public Health Minister, Dr. George Norton a “feral blast”, he stressed that the protocols of Cabinet dictate a different mode of approach.
In fact, Ramjattan said that when he considers the issue of the bond deal, the entire Cabinet, he believes, should take some amount of responsibility for the mistake.
“It is not only Norton who erred. It’s the entire Cabinet. I will take my share of the responsibility, but people must understand that there is a certain way to doing things,” the Public Security Minister expressed.
Ramjattan said that he can accept the criticism that Government erred badly in this regard, however it must be appreciated that the administration took steps to correct the mistake.
The AFC Leader asserted, “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.”
He added, “We were also under the impression that the Sussex Street facility was ready. But of course we found out this was not the case. But what did we do after finding certain anomalies? We immediately established a subcommittee to investigate the matter.”
The Cabinet subcommittee comprised Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, Natural Resources Minster, Raphael Trotman and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon.
Ramjattan stressed that coming out of that sub-committee were certain recommendations, one of which includes an apology to the public. Norton is expected to hand over his apology to House Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland tomorrow.
The AFC leader also emphasised that it is important for the public to note that had the same situation occurred under the former regime, there would have been an entirely different reaction from the PPP.
“We in the AFC, cannot in view of the partnership arrangement, go and box him (Norton) on his ears and ask him to walk out of Cabinet because of this mistake. How could we do that? We understand that we made a huge mistake but come on, we are rectifying it,” Ramjattan appealed.
He added, “We are going to make lots more mistakes. Don’t ever feel we are not going to make mistakes. But in view of all of this, it means that we will have to be more interrogative of our brother and sister cabinet Ministers on matters of single sourcing and those other issues.”
The Public Security Minister made it clear that he is in agreement with the recommendation to have a bond for the storage of pharmaceuticals that is closer to Georgetown. He noted, too, that Government has agreed for the rental fee to be renegotiated with a view to having it reduced. Ramjattan said that if this cannot be done, then he would imagine that the contract would have to be revoked.
Kaieteur News then asked the Minister why Government wouldn’t simply revoke the contract now and start anew. The Attorney-at-Law said that it is not advisable to revoke at this stage, especially when certain provisions at the bond are already in place.
Some members of the Opposition have commentated that Norton’s behaviour has placed the Government on the precipice of a credibility crisis.
The Public Security Minister said he can understand this position, while adding that the Government understands that it will obviously pay some penalty for the blunder. He agreed too, that it has done some damage to the image of the Government but again stressed, “We are not perfect…”
Noting that some members of the Opposition have said that an apology is not enough, Ramjattan said, “What they want? They want blood? They want him sacked? Let them bring their Privileges Motion in Parliament and we will handle it in the Committee…Norton deserves a second chance.”

6 thoughts on “That shady bond deal… We are humans, not a Cabinet of Angels; we will make mistakes -Ramjattan”

Arthur Young August 25, 2016 at 6:30 am

“Truth never damages a cause hat is just’ – Mahatma Gandhi.
Keith Williams August 25, 2016 at 9:25 am

So why was that consideration appropriate when the PPP was in Government. The Orwellian responses from Ramjattan and others to these major faux pas are really repugnant.
RLSG August 25, 2016 at 9:54 am

What a lame excuse Mr. Minister !!
rs dasai August 25, 2016 at 10:01 am

Emphasis on ‘WILL’. At the least, The Min of Sec is being ‘Transparent’. Yes, his slip is showing.
Surujpaul Rampersaud August 25, 2016 at 12:19 pm

Mr. Ramjattan, every time you tell a lie you have to tell ten lies to cover that one lie so the number of lies increases in geometric proportion. You do not get it or you have become senile. It took too long too to admit the mistakes. For a group that campaigned on clean government, an apology is just not good enough.
casada11 August 25, 2016 at 12:44 pm

Ramjattan should also explain why people and not angels, always try their best, in making well calculated effort top minimize the effects of error, when it comes to thy self,