Drop all Govt contracts if serious about cutting ties

Joe Harmon to Chris Ram:

The Government is projecting an unfazed front over the recent high-profile resignations which followed the unilateral appointment of a Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman.
It went so far as to urge Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, who tendered his resignation from a Legal Affairs Ministry committee in protest, to drop all contracts between his audit firm and the Government if he was truly serious about cutting ties.
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon made this challenge, on the side-lines of an event on Friday. Harmon noted that Ram, who resigned from the committee that was negotiating the establishment of a local law school and is a Managing Partner of audit firm Ram & McRae, in fact, resigned from a non-paying position.
“If Mr Ram wants to resign I would ask him to consider all the contracts the company, in which he is, that has to do with any government agency or the Government, and let him withdraw from those. Then is when we will know if, in fact, he is making a very serious decision,” Harmon charged.
On the resignation of Major General (retired) Joe Singh from his position of Presidential Adviser, Harmon claimed not to see any ulterior motive in the move. According to Harmon, there was nothing wrong with the move.
“Joe Singh sent a letter of intention not to (continue) his contract. I see nothing wrong about him wanting to do that. I do not see any ulterior motive behind it. And all I would say is that the letter has been sent to the President to consider. Once the President considers the matter, I would wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”
Both Ram and Singh were featured on the lists submitted by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to the President to consider for the post of GECOM Chairman. Days after President David Granger reached outside the 18 nominees to appoint 84-year-old retired Justice James Patterson, both resigned.
While Singh remained reticent about the motive behind his resignation, Ram was highly critical of Government choosing Patterson. The vocal anti-corruption advocate described the appointment as blatant disregard for good governance.
Ram, in his strongly-worded statement, said, “While I remain committed to serving my country, I make the clear distinction between Guyana and the Government. The blatant disregard by the Granger Administration for the Constitution, the courts, the principles of good governance and for social cohesion, is a matter which should be of grave concern to all of us who claim respect and love of country.”
According to Ram, “Given that the Constitution deems me a fit and proper person makes President Granger’s assessment of me of no import… Indeed, I am fortified in my conviction that his decision is entirely wrong and unconstitutional.”
He used the occasion to quip also, “If the truth be told, Mr Williams has been so impressed with my contribution that he asked for my CV to recommend me for a national award… I declined, saying my service was for country, for neither award nor reward.”
A number of individuals and organisations spanning a wide cross-section of society have also soundly criticised and condemned the President’s unilateral decision, including the Guyana Bar Association; the Berbice Bar Association; the Private Sector Commission (PSC); the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
Criticism has also come from the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) and members of the Diaspora. In addition, the political Opposition filed a legal challenge in the courts on Monday, seeking to revoke Patterson’s appointment.