The Ministry of the Presidency (MOTP) has refuted the assertions and opinion expressed by Kaieteur News Columnist, Mr. Freddie Kissoon in his Sunday June 4, 2017 column, titled, “I ignore the narrow-minded mandarins in Guyana; I always will”, in which the Ministry is accused of deliberately omitting his name as a former student of Sister Noel Menezes during her book launching ceremony last week, as misleading and malicious.
Mr. Kissoon in his column states, “Why my name was left out and others included? I wasn’t even invited to the book launching. The answer is simple, and I mean very simple. It does not strain the imagination to find the answer. In one of my columns or maybe more than one, I may have written unflattering sentiments about the kings and queens in the APNU+AFC’s corridors of power and in the power establishment at UG. But to deliberately leave out my name shows we are certainly dealing with some ugly, petty minds with authority, power and status in this land that time forgot about.”
However, in a statement, the MOTP said it would like to make it clear that the names mentioned as former students were accurately reported. The Ministry of the Presidency did not ‘deliberately’ leave out Mr. Freddie Kissoon’s name as is being peddled.
During that event, a close friend of Sister Menezes, Dr. Nigel Gravesande, in his remarks said: “Past students include former UG Vice Chancellor, Dr. James Rose, former Registrar, Dr. David Chanderballi, former Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Mr. Carl Singh, former Dean of the School of Education and Humanities, Mr. Tota Mangar, UG’s first Master’s graduate, Dr. Basdeo Mangru and, of course, President Granger.”
Further to this, the MOTP said, the President was invited by the organisers to participate in the launching ceremony, an invitation he accepted despite having Cabinet Meeting that day. It said the MOTP had no role in the organising of the event or control of the guest list.
“The Ministry views the column as a deliberate attempt to mislead the Guyanese people. The assertions carried therein have no basis in fact and the Ministry is, therefore, calling for an immediate retraction”, the MOTP statement added.
