MINISTER of State, Joseph Harmon, has pronounced on the issue of the renewal of contract for lead State Counsel for the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (COI), Glen Hanoman, saying that while he was unaware that Hanoman’s contract had expired, he is not responsible for renewing it.According to a Guyana Times report, Hanoman, who was appointed Lead Counsel under the previous Administration, has opted out of today’s sitting of the Inquiry, disclosing that it was obvious that the current APNU+AFC Government does not want him at that post.

The Senior Counsel explained that his contract expired in April of this year, and he had anticipated that it would have been renewed following the May 11 General and Regional Elections. He said this failed to happen despite him making many futile efforts to contact both the Ministry of the Presidency and the Secretariat’s Administrator, Hugh Denbow.

Hanoman has sent a letter to the doyens of the Commission, in which he stated: “My contract expired several months ago, and in spite of my persistent inquiries, there has been no indication that there is a desire to retain me to act as counsel to the Commission.”

In light of these circumstances, he highlighted that he does not have the “locus standi” to appear as counsel for the Commission at the next session, which commences today.

In an interview with iNews, Hanoman related that should the APNU+AFC Government attempt to renew his contract, he is willing to continue working in this regard; but as it is presently, he will not make himself “a fool”.

“I want to finish the job off in the right way; I am not going to make an appearance. As a lawyer, I know that I don’t have a valid contract; I am not going to make myself a fool to have somebody tell me that I have no authority to be here,” Hanoman told iNews during a telephone interview on Friday, July 24.

“Because the contracts were usually three-month contracts, and since there was a change of Government and nobody has contacted me, I am convinced that the people at the Office of the President don’t wish to rehire me to be the Commission’s counsel,” he added.

Hanoman further explained that he made it known to the Government several weeks ago that his contract has expired, but no efforts were made on their part to renew it. He even indicated that Denbow had been informed on the issue.

“I have been sending texts and emails countlessly, and they haven’t had the courtesy to respond to me, not once… There has been no communication. I have not been consulted on any of these things that are going on right now,” the Counsel told iNews last week.
But during an interview with the press on Friday evening, Minister Joseph Harmon said he was not aware that Hanoman’s contract had expired. The Minister explained that the bulk of what has to be done in relation to the Rodney CoI will be submissions to be made by the attorneys for the various parties that are before the Commission.

What he understands from this, he said, is that the Commission has decided to deal with a few persons who need to tidy up some issues that arose.

But as it relates to the non-renewal of Hanoman’s contract, Harmon offered that the persons who were recommended by the Commission itself to be retained were indeed retained.

“I do not run the Commission; I provide resources for the Commission,” the Minister said. He added that the Commission has indicated to him what they were doing, and that they “have all that they need to complete the next set of sittings.”

Harmon has indicated that whether or not Hanoman is part of that arrangement is not something he can pronounce on. “If he has not been renewed, that has to be a decision that was made by the Commission and by the organisers of the Commission,” Harmon said.

He added that the state has provided all the necessary resources for the Commission to execute its functions.

By Ravin Singh