Harmon terminated as Director General of MoTP; earned $900,000 per month plus benefits

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) heavyweight Joseph Harmon has been fired by the new People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government as Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, but not before pocketing a $900,000 salary plus benefits every month since last year.

According to details of the contract seen by this publication, Harmon’s base salary was set at $900,000 when he was appointed to the newly created position in May of last year. But this excludes the litany of benefits Harmon earned.
In addition, Harmon earned a gratuity of 22 per cent of his basic salary and was eligible for 42 days’ vacation leave. He was also paid a duty allowance of $250,000; entertainment allowance of $100,000; a maid allowance of $128,000; a gardener allowance of $65,000.
Other benefits Harmon received were housing, telephone, internet, electricity and 24-hour security, all paid for by the Government. He was also provided with the option of a car and driver, compliments of the State, or duty-free concessions for up to 4000 cc (equivalent of an SUV).

When the PPP came to office, Harmon had applied to the new Government for 42 days leave. It was an action described by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira as strange, since it was inconceivable for Harmon to want to work with the new Government.
In a termination letter dated August 13 and addressed to Harmon, Attorney General Anil Nandlall put an abrupt and official end to the arrangement. According to Nandlall in the letter, the PPP Government had no confidence in him for “reasons too obvious to state herein.”
Nandlall also informed Harmon that the terms of his contract were inconsistent with usual Government contracts. Moreover, Harmon at the time of the signing of the contract last year exuded an undue amount of influence on the Ministry of the Presidency staff.
According to Nandlall, the contract essentially guaranteed that Harmon would retain the power he wielded as Minister of State until he was forced to resign over his dual citizenship. But Nandlall pointed out that the position of “Director General of MOTP” does not exist in either the public service or the Constitution and therefore, does not have the security of tenure.
“Having regard to the nature of the job which you were engaged to execute and did in fact execute, it is no longer possible or practical for you to perform those tasks under the new Government.”
“Expectedly, those tasks ended upon the swearing-in of the new President. You must appreciate that your contract contemplates it’s instantaneous termination upon the new Government assuming office.” Nandlall said, also adding that even former President David Granger had relieved him of his position to make him Chief Executive Officer of the COVID-19 Task Force.
Since being sworn in on August 2, President Dr Irfaan Ali has taken a tough stance against political appointees, who this publication understands proliferate throughout the various Ministries. So much so that the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) party that hired these political appointees have raised concerns over their removal.
But in a brief statement last week, President Ali made it clear that no public servant has been fired since he took the Oath of Office on Sunday, August 2, 2020. The Head of State had revealed that a number of APNU/AFC political appointees tendered their resignation and several others have been advised accordingly.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, during a recent virtual update. She had assured that public servants are not being targeted by the new Administration – as is being claimed by the APNU/AFC coalition. She had also expressed hope that political appointees would do the honourable thing and just resign.