Nagamootoo’s shill insists PM was not “stripped” – President says otherwise

Yesterday, the Office of the Prime Minister issued a statement that denied the incumbent Moses Nagamootoo had been stripped of all “line” responsibilities in the newly “reconfigured” Executive structure announced by President David Granger to the National Assembly last Thursday.
However, the statement focused more on conducting a vicious ad hominem attack on a principal of Guyana Times and its media group than demonstrating where in President Granger’s speech the news article had been contradicted.

(The following is a Page One comment in today’s Guyana Times newspaper, that dealt with issue:)

Nagamootoo’s shill insists PM was not “stripped”
– President says otherwise

Yesterday, the Office of the Prime Minister issued a statement that denied the incumbent Moses Nagamootoo had been stripped of all “line” responsibilities in the newly “reconfigured” Executive structure announced by President David Granger to the National Assembly last Thursday.

However, the statement focused more on conducting a vicious ad hominem attack on a principal of Guyana Times and its media group than demonstrating where in President Granger’s speech the news article had been contradicted.
The President stated: “It is time for a fresh start – a new beginning. It is time to redouble our efforts to eradicate poverty….It is in pursuit of achieving greater economic independence that we have reconfigured an executive Cabinet to give leadership to the renewed national effort to rebuild our economy.
“The Ministry of the Presidency has been reconfigured to combine the offices of the President, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ministers of State, Citizenship and Social Cohesion. This combination enhances governance and, especially through the Office of the Prime Minister, manages the Government’s business and legislative agenda in the National Assembly.”
The President then went on to describe the “line” responsibilities of the offices within the “Ministry of the Presidency”:
“Our Ministry of Social Cohesion, a Ministry within the Ministry of the Presidency, will continue its arduous work to reinforce national unity.
“Our Ministry of Citizenship, a Ministry within the Ministry of the Presidency, will implement systems to ensure that every Guyanese child’s birth is registered and will develop policies to ensure greater control over illegal aliens.”
Nothing was mentioned in relation to “line responsibilities” of the Prime Minister save, as was stated in the article, the named Ministers would augment “governance” along with the PM in “managing” Government’s business in the National Assembly.
But the Prime Minister’s shill claimed that Nagamootoo has the following responsibilities:
• Leader of Government business in the National Assembly
• Public Information
• Constitutional Reform
• Governance
• Supervising/coordinating functions with ministries involved with domestic affairs
• Cabinet co-chair
If, in fact, Mr Nagamootoo is responsible for these areas, by omitting to mention them President Granger obviously does not feel they have the importance in the new ‘reconfiguring’ of his Executive structure to be mentioned.
In a letter from veteran journalist Rickey Singh mentioned in the article, he pointed out the Public Information duties were tantamount to being in charge of GINA. The President had himself said that Nagamootoo chairing the Cabinet would violate the Constitution and he was not willing to do so. The country still awaits an explanation of what “governance” entails as well as “Supervising/coordinating functions with ministries involved with domestic affairs”. The shill’s job description of the PM Office would appear to be “puffery” and should have emanated from OP.
The President continued, “We have recruited a resourceful team of 14 ‘line’ Ministers from our six-party coalition for the purpose of promoting economic growth.”
The President then enumerated the functions of the 14 line Ministers, viz, Ministry of Business, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Telecommunications, Ministry of Communities, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Protection, Ministry of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security.
In law, the maxim “res ipsa loquitur” means “the thing speaks for itself” and is used when the circumstantial evidence is strong as to vitiate the need for further proof of what was asserted. With reference to Prime Minister Nagamootoo having no substantive “line” responsibility save introducing Government Bills in the National Assembly, President Granger’s speech literally and figuratively “speaks for itself”.
Guyana Times calls on the Guyana Press Association to denounce this vicious state attack on its editorial independence to report on matters in the public domain. (The newspaper noted that it printed the President’s speech) and request that it be examined vis a vis the allegations made by OPM. They will be found to be baseless.