The Guyana Defence Force deserves praise for its professional conduct

Aug 16, 2020 Letters

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Dear Editor,

As we enter the third week of President Irfaan Ali’s administration, commentary on the five-month fiasco has ebbed and flowed; notably absent in all of the dialogue to date is praise for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the professional behaviour exhibited by the officers and ranks of that disciplined service. The GDF to its credit successfully navigated that treacherous, politically-charged environment that could have drawn it into confrontation with the forces aligned with democracy. To even greater credit, Brigadier Godfrey Bess, Chief of Staff (ag) issued a public statement to support the new Commander- in-Chief and the democratically elected government.
We Guyanese have been subject to countless arguments by columnists, letter writers, and denizens of watering holes to the effect that the GDF is ethnically unbalanced and would act to keep the Granger/APNU+AFC administration in power at all costs. I have never seen evidence of this and have pointedly refrained from ever making that argument, I am thankful that I relied on logic for my writings and can only hope that those who made those false assumptions are now willing to retract those statements and join in support of the GDF and expansion and enhancement of the role it (the GDF) plays in Guyana’s security and development.
Shakespeare famously said, “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” This cannot be one of those times; all Guyanese should take a few moments to recognize the democracy we cherish is a fragile chalice and for it to remain unbroken, we need a GDF that is unbiased and professional, thankfully this is what we have and all Guyanese can take much pride in the Force and its growth and evolution. Let us not be shy in singing praises for the (much maligned) institution and its exemplary conduct throughout those testing times.
Yours truly,
Robin Singh
The change of government would have automatically put an end to political contracts
Dear Editor,
We are now witnessing an act, which is equally abhorrent as the attempt to rig the 2020 Elections and the refusal to concede electoral defeat; this is the refusal of former Director General of the Office of the Presidency to relinquish this political appointment which was specially created to circumnavigate his dual citizenship.
The Attorney General Anil Nandlall’s letter clearly informed Harmon that his “services are no longer required…it is no longer possible or practical for you to perform these tasks under the new Government”. In a nutshell, there no longer exists such a job description as the ‘Director General of the Office of the Presidency’ – it has become redundant. Harmon is fully aware that such a political appointment will cease automatically at the end of the life of the government, which appointed him. The fact that his contract extended beyond the life of his government is itself a devious attempt to perpetrate another fraud on this nation and to shamelessly rape the Treasury.
Harmon’s barefaced reply to the AG’s letter speaks volume of his disdain for decency. He stated that, “…I do not respect your authority and your convoluted attempt to explain the arbitrary capricious action of a fraudulent Government to deny me of contractual benefits.” This is no surprise since Harmon and his ilk never respect our Constitution and the Rule of Law. The AG’s advised him to seek ‘sagacious counsel’ which should persuade him that ‘contractual benefits’ will only accrue ‘upon the breach of a subsisting, valid and enforceable contract’ but in Harmon’s case, ‘there is no longer such a contract’. In addition, he unequivocally informed him that his ‘expectation is woefully misplaced’.
It would be worthwhile to look at the facts surrounding Harmon’s appointment. His contract was signed on May 1, 2019 for three years, expiring on May 31, 2022. Firstly, as I have mentioned before, the position was specially created to circumvent his resignation of his dual citizenship. The salary and benefits he received under this new designation was more lucrative than his former position, as Minister of State, and afforded him the same power wielded by him. Secondly, the Coalition was already aware that with the NCM, there was a strong possibility that the appeal to the CCJ would see General Elections around September 2019. Thirdly, even if the NCM appeal was unsuccessful then the Government’s tenure in office would come to an end by latest August 2020 when General Elections would have been due. Why would Harmon’s ‘contract’ come to an end in May 2022? Was Harmon so assured that the Coalition would be having a second term? It is legally correct to state that Harmon’s appointment did in fact came to an end when the PPP/C Government assumed office and the Attorney General is legally correct as usual.
In addition, there is the deceitful ploy whereby some contracts do not have ‘termination clauses’. It must be understood that even if there is no such clause, it is reasonable to expect that all political appointments must come to an end with a change in government; this can also be likened to a ‘force majeure’, whereby a major event such as a change in Government has occurred and such contracts must come to an end. All the political appointees are knowledgeable that such an event will bring an end to their contracts and to otherwise believe is just to ‘play de ass’ and try to eke a few dollars more from an already raped and violated Treasury. Therefore, all such contracts can be terminated and there is no need to give any notice since such notices would have already been given as soon as Parliament is dissolved and an Election date set.
Granger, please advise your political appointees and end this drama of shame and disgrace!
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf

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