One day after President David Granger denied knowledge of a letter sent by the National Trust of Guyana demanding an explanation for the repainting of State House in the colour green, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon on Thursday confirmed that the letter was received by the Ministry of the Presidency.
“The letter was received; (it) was written to the Permanent Secretary,” the Minister of State disclosed at this week’s post-Cabinet press briefing, telling reporters that Government would soon be responding to the National Trust. However, he opted not to delve into details about what the response would be.
“They will have all the reasons when the response is made… I can’t tell you all of that now, but when the National Trust gets its response, that information will be made public,” Harmon said.
The coalition Administration came in for criticism after it bypassed the National Trust and began changing the colour of State House from white to green – the dominant colour of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), both parties that the President leads.
Over the past weekend, the National Trust of Guyana registered its concerns over the colour change at State House, since it falls under its purview as a historical building.
In fact, National Trust Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nirvanie Persaud had told Guyana Times that it welcomed the repairs to the building, but noted that they should have been consulted before the colour change.
As such, Persaud said a letter registering their concerns was dispatched to the Ministry of the Presidency, demanding an explanation.
President Granger told reporters on Wednesday that the building was rotting and as a result, an administrative decision was taken to have it repaired and repainted.
“I am not aware a law has been broken…in fact, National Trust needs to worry about the present decision to ensure that State House is in good repair and does not leak,” he said.
The Head of State further noted that the National Trust should be concerned over the current state of a number of other historical buildings, which are falling apart such as City Hall and the St George’s Cathedral.
