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Complaints about Ministers should be written to Govt. – Harmon
If citizens or politicians have any complaints to make against a sitting Minister of Government, they are advised to do so in writing and send such information to the government and await a response or requisite action.
Anyone having complaints against Ministers are advised to write the government highlighting the matter.
This is the position of Minister of State Joseph Harmon on Thursday at the post Cabinet press briefing after he was asked about complaints being levelled against Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, on many occasions, repeatedly insisted that Ramjattan has breached the code of conduct. He went as far as to accuse the Minister of selling firearm licenses.
According to Harmon, the accusations made against Ramjattan are very serious and therefore Jagdeo or anyone who has information which seeks to impugn the character of a minister, should (make a formal report.)
The Minister of State said, “You do not expect the Leader of the Opposition to go on television and rant and rave and you expect a Minister to now be called upon to explain. If in fact there is information, then write saying that this is the information available to me and write so that we can answer it.”
Harmon said that government should not be expected to respond to every allegation made by the Leader of the Opposition during his press conferences or other engagements with the media.
He said, “We have an agenda for the development of this country and that agenda is set by the government.”
In September 2015, Jagdeo was reported as accusing Ramjattan of selling gun licenses which has contributed to the Minister’s supposedly overwhelming wealth of resources. Jagdeo had asked that Ramjattan’s wealth of resources be placed under the microscope.
Meanwhile, Ramjattan had begun making efforts to address the issue of having a large number of unregistered firearms in society in the hands of Guyanese.
Ramjattan had said that there are too many guns on the streets and had announced that the process will begin to repossess the licenses of those no longer eligible to have a weapon.
That decision was reportedly birthed in weekly Cabinet discussions and lobbying by fellow Ministers of Government. He had mentioned that some firearm holders are depressed people who randomly decide to act out and shoot themselves and others.
In early 2016, the National Assembly had passed legislation paving the way for an increase in gun licenses fees. The fee for a shotgun licence has moved from $2000 to $5000; the cost for pistol and revolver licences go from $5000 to $25,000; rifle fees will be increased from $7,500 to $40,000 and dealer’s licences will be issued at a cost of $150,000, up from $20,000.
During his presentation to the Assembly, Ramjattan explained that there is a three-stage process when applying for a firearm license. He said that it starts with the application letter being sent to the Commander of the Division who assigns a rank to go check on the applicant’s character in his or her community.
That application is then sent to the Commissioner’s office to ensure that the applicant’s antecedents are positive in the sense that there were no previous convictions. The application then goes to the Firearm Licensing Board.
It is then decided, at that stage, whether the applicant is fit. If so, the application is sent to the Minister for the final stamp of approval.
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