… is playing a dangerous game with people – Bishop Edghill
The Government of Guyana appears to be deliberately starving the Constitutional Office of the Commissioner of Information, in order to stymie the public’s access to information, by withholding resources.
People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament, Juan Edghill made the damning charges on Tuesday, after learning that the Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson Sr, did not even have the resources to get a letter typed to furnish an Access to Information request under the Access to Information Act.
Former Appeal Court Judge and Charle Charles Ramson Sr
This position was taken following a correspondence from the Commissioner of Information Ramson, in response to a request by Edghill seeking to identify the names of the more than 200 persons that were blacklisted from leaving the country by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force.
Ramson on Monday wrote to the PPP/C Member of Parliament acknowledging the request for the list of 200 names of persons that have been blacklisted from leaving the country by SOCU.
According to Ramson – a former Attorney General under the PPP/C Administration – a letter has been prepared to the Commissioner of Police and it shall be delivered after being duly processed digitally.
“As you are aware this exercise has to be outsourced owing to the absence of staff since July 2015,” Ramson stated.
The Commissioner of Information further explained: “My office has not been provided with any officers, employees, etc, by the Minister of Information (Prime Minster Moses Nagamootoo) as is required by Section 5 of the Access to Information Act 2011.”
Edghill subsequently told Guyana Times, “one could only conclude this is not coincidental, it is not accidental, it is deliberate.”
He was adamant that the purpose of the Commissioner of Information is to ensure all access to information to the people of the country.
According to Edghill, the coalition Government is in fact playing a dangerous game when it comes to denying people information.
A peeved Edghill recalled for Guyana Times that the initial request was made of the Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud but to no avail.
Bishop Edghill observed that while the Police Commissioner is equipped with the resources and manpower to acquiesce to the request there was not even an acknowledgement while the person empowered under the law – Commissioner of Information Ramson – is being deliberately starved of resources.
He said it would appear that the Administration has triangulated and has hamstrung the office of the Commissioner of Information in not providing adequate staff.
According to Edghill, when he approached Ramson even the guard hut had been nailed shut and while the Information Commissioner was willing to act on the PPP/C member’s request, he complained of a lack of staff and resources.
He said the Administration in its treatment with information is selective and has demonstrated a willingness and capacity to bury information.
The former Government Minister described accessing to information under the current administration as akin to ‘pulling teeth.’
He described as appalling, the dire and difficult circumstances under which the Commissioner of Information is forced to operate. According to Edghill, it is difficult to fathom how a man of such high standing, learning and training, would be allowed to operate in such a state of affairs by a Government who came to office on the promises of transparency and accountability.
He told Guyana Times, “this culture of non-disclosure is annoying and a far cry from what they promised the people.”
Ramson recently filed legal action against Prime Minister and Information Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Attorney General Basil Williams over the withholding of his salary.
Ramson Sr, whose suit was filed for him by his Attorneys Ashton and Pauline Chase, is seeking a declaration that his fundamental right to work was violated by the respondents. He is also seeking an order for the respondents to continue to pay his salary, emoluments and allowances “until such time as his appointment is revoked lawfully.”
In addition, he is seeking an order for the Prime Minister, the second named respondent, to provide “such accommodation, resources and officers and employees for the efficient functioning of the office of the Commissioner of Information pursuant to Section 5 of the Access to Information Act 2011.”
Ramson and Prime Minster Nagamootoo has been at loggerheads for months with one claiming a lack of resources and the other claiming ‘no money for no work done.’
