Commissioner of Information matter sent to President

GINA, GUYANA, Thursday, February, 02 2017

The Commissioner of Information matter has been sent to President David Granger.

Briefing the media today, on the deliberations of Cabinet, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said that the matter which was previously engaging the attention of Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, was handed over to the President due to concerns from the Prime Minister.

Harmon said that the Prime Minister is responsible for the laying of constitutional reports in the National Assembly and receives reports from constitutional entities.

According to Harmon, the  Prime Minister has reported  that the matter is no longer under his control because under the Act, the contract of employment for the commissioner falls under the presidency.

“The concern which had been raised by the Prime Minister is that the Commissioner has not presented reports for a number of years,” Harmon indicated.

Prior to the President taking over the matter, Prime Minister Nagamootoo had taken an interest in the issue. But after 20 months, he had still been unaware of what was done by Ramson since he took the position.

Recently reports in the media surfaced noting that every month Charles Ramson SC. collects a $2M package to ensure that citizens have easy access to information.

Harmon pointed out that “the Commissioner of Information is a person who the public must have access to and he should be the person who gives information…but the Commissioner of Information is locked away from the public and could not have been performing his duties.”

Minister Harmon said the matter remains under consideration .

 

By: Ranetta La Fleur