Lincoln Lewis is mischievously misleading Guyanese on Prime Minister’s portfolio

Dear Editor,
Allow me from the onset to state emphatically that the assertions surrounding my portfolio as Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, made by Mr. Lincoln Lewis in his recent ‘Eye on Guyana’ column, are blatantly false, and are meant to mislead Guyanese.
Similarly false are his claims that the Government of Guyana is somehow not demonstrating respect for the Constitution and laws of Guyana. This edict that is masqueraded as an opinion piece on Government’s constitutional performance confirms the widely held view that the author is content to faithfully clutch at straws floated by his political masters in the Opposition, without first seeking the facts.
The irresponsible suggestion that I am not allowed to function within the constitutional powers afforded to the post of Prime Minister is irrational, even by Lewis’s standards.
Nonetheless, the deliberate attempt to distort the facts about the Office of the Prime Minister warrants a reminder, which I am happy to provide, that Lewis’s narrative best fits my immediate predecessor, since the post of Prime Minister was denuded under the previous APNU+AFC administration.
Veteran regional journalist Rickey Singh, in his Guyana Chronicle column of November 2015, succinctly pointed to the traditionally enormous powers of an Executive President as Head of State, as well as the constitutional responsibilities allotted to the Prime Minister – normally the number two person in the Guyana Cabinet. Singh wrote, “The President seems busily engaged in the further constitutional empowerment of his former Army colleague, ex-Guyana Defence Force Colonel Joseph Harmon.
According to Singh, “This leaves no doubt about the reality of a twosome power status quo – he and ‘Comrade’ Joe.”
Following his analysis, Singh was forced to depart the newspaper by the vindictive APNU+AFC regime, for stating the facts on the sidelining of the then Prime Minister, whose duties were reduced to mere ceremonial appearances to deliver pep talks, ribbon-cutting ceremonies, and photo ops which were gleefully accepted because there was no meaningful portfolio offered.
As upholders of the Constitution, the PPP/C has always embraced the traditional posture to the Prime Minister’s portfolio, where, for instance, former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds had been in charge of energy, and served as the head of Government business in the National Assembly. This approach has not changed.
Upon return to Government in 2020, one of the first things President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali did was to ensure the independence of the Prime Minister’s Office by relocating the office from the same building as the Office of the President.
The President then assigned meaningful duties to my office. Apart from my role as the Leader of Government’s business in the National Assembly, I also have responsibility for the telecommunications sector, which includes the Telecommunications Agency, National Data Management Authority (NDMA), Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC).
Additionally, I have been assigned the Civil Defence Commission and disaster preparedness activities in Guyana. My office also has responsibility for the energy sector, exercising oversight of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the Hinterland Electrification Company Inc, (HECI), as well as the Guyana National Broadcast Authority (GNBA). Further, my office is also tasked with oversight of the Government Information Sector, which includes the Department of Public Information (DPI), the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL), and the National Communications Network (NCN).
The baseless and reckless nature of the claims from Mr. Lincoln Lewis and his handlers in the Opposition follow a now-familiar pattern of maligning state institutions, officials and public servants, and attempting to shake public confidence in the fundamental pillars of our democracy and governance.
We are at an unprecedented moment of our cherished history. Our democratic principles and rights have been solidly restored, the economy is strong to the point that we are once again able to attract foreign investors in significant numbers; which is evidence of the vast potential that Guyana wields as a ‘head cornerstone’, leading the conversations on global issues, as described by Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Dr. Ralph Gonsalves at the recent opening of the International Energy Conference and Expo Guyana 2023.

Sincerely,
Hon. Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips
Prime Minister