Former Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall has been described by Vice President and General Secretary of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo as a “good minister” and a “great asset”.
Jagdeo was at the time speaking during a live broadcast from his social media page where he was responding to a question regarding Dharamlall’s replacement as a Cabinet Member and parliamentarian.
After being cleared of facing charges in relation to the allegation of rape that was brought against him by a 16-year-old girl, Dharamlall tendered his resignation as a minister and Member of Parliament (MP).
Jagdeo said Dharamlall will be replaced in the National Assembly but indicated that there is no rush to fill the ministerial portfolio.
Minister within that Ministry Anand Persaud, according to Jagdeo, “has been acting and he is doing a good job”.
Nevertheless, Jagdeo said the matter of a new Local Government Minister needs to be discussed and will be decided by the President.
Meanwhile, regarding the empty parliamentary seat, Jagdeo explained that the post will be occupied by another PPP constituency candidate from the Geographical List of Candidates for Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). Dharamlall was chosen as a parliamentarian for Region Two from that list in the 2020 General and Regional elections.
There are currently three other persons who are likely to take up that post: Arnold Adams, Vilma DaSilva and Nandrainie Coonjah. “The MP would have to be between one of the three,” Jagdeo stressed.
Meanwhile, reflecting on Dharamlall’s track record, Jagdeo contended that he has been “a good minister”.
“He’s a very efficient person, I’ve work with him a long time and he is committed to the task of national development…I’ve seen him work very, very hard and I need to say that…that he’s been a great asset to the PPP in its work and I think this whole matter has taken a toll on him and his psyche…and so I think he needs time to recover from this,” Jagdeo said.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had told the police on Tuesday that there is no legal provision to proceed with any case against Dharamlall, given that the victim withdrew her complaint against the Minister. According to the DPP, the victim said her decision to withdraw the complaint was in her best interest.
From the inception of the allegation, the institutions commenced their work: the Minister was arrested and placed on $1 million station bail as the police investigated the matter. Dharamlall was also on administrative leave throughout the entire investigation.
Meanwhile, the Vice President has criticised the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) for its continuous politicisation of the matter. In fact, Jagdeo said because the APNU and its supporters politicising the matter, “they must have put more pressure on this young lady”.
