Norton admits to snubbing Minister on Constitutional appointment correspondences

…says Gail Teixeira ‘below his level’

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has defended bypassing the Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Ministry in corresponding on matters of constitutional appointments.
Minister Gail Teixeira has raised the issue that whenever she writes to the Leader of the Opposition, he would instead respond directly to the Office of the President, resulting in a breakdown in communication.
The most recent breakdown was relating to the opposition’s nominees for the Local Government Commission. While Teixeira’s Ministry had written the Opposition Leader requesting the submission of his nominees, Norton responded, but sent his letter to the Office of the President.

“Mr Norton has a habit of not recognising me as the person who writes him on behalf of the President. So, any correspondence sent to him on constitutional appointments, he will respond directly to the President and/or through an emissary,” Teixeira recently explained to the National Assembly.
“I would like to ask the Honourable Member that, as I am asked by the President to write the Leader of the Opposition, that he also provides me with his responses or correspondence, instead of always disregarding my correspondence and treating me as if I am too much beneath him for him to respond,” she had added.
Asked to comment on the issue during his press conference today, Norton indicated that Teixeira is not on his level and therefore, he prefers to communicate directly with the Office of the President.

“When I became Leader of the Opposition, the President and I engaged. After the President engaged me, he then had a letter sent by Gail Teixeira. I then said in a letter to the President and to Gail Teixeira that Roysdale Forde will be the person identified to relate to Gail Texeira on these matters and that I, Aubrey Norton, as Leader of the Opposition, will engage the President,” Norton told reporters. “The Office of the President and Teixeira have picked up the practice of Teixeira writing straight to me. I’ve been around long enough to know that I shouldn’t accept that,” he contended.
According to Norton, “if she continues to write me and I will continue to not respond to her and respond directly to the President, because she says she writes on behalf of the President. So, I assume that with she writing on behalf of the President, I would want somebody writing on my behalf and engaging at her level.”