THE Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has declared that they “are not prepared to sit and talk with the Government on any issue of unity and shared governance if they continue to witch-hunt their supporters in what they believe is political headhunting and forensic sleuthing.”During the party’s weekly press conference held at Freedom House, General Secretary, Clement Rohee said that the party believes that the “unity Government” is attacking its members and supporters to prove allegations of corruption and other wrongdoings by the former PPP/C Government as was touted on their election campaign trail.
“The party would not be duped into entering into such an engagement at a time when its members and supporters are under attack by the political hierarchy of the coalition and its underlings,” Rohee stressed.
According to the former Home Affairs Minister, the Government’s action in firing state workers believed to be connected or sympathetic to the PPP/C, “openly contradicts the call by the Coalition for the PPP/C to enter into talks with the APNU+AFC (A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change) on the issue of national unity and shared governance.”
The Coalition, the General Secretary noted, has embarked on a “big masquerade that suggests massive investigations to put right, wrong doing by the PPP/C while they were in Government.”
Rohee made reference to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon and other Government Ministers who have already indicated very grey areas in their particular ministries where wrongdoing may have taken place. “It was widely publicised that the new Government is scrutinising specifically the State’s finances to ascertain what they believe was rampant corruption involving the former Government,” he stated.
“All these highly publicised actions are being taken without any just cause; any investigations, neither any involvement of the Auditor General or the relevant constitutional body nor the production of incontrovertible evidence,” Rohee complained.
He said these actions in essence are “arbitrary, vindictive, malicious and politically motivated.”
Rohee suggested that the new Government has failed miserably to prove their election campaign claims of corruption and has now opted for a highly publicised campaign about investigating wrongdoings and corrupt practices.
DENIAL
Responding to the question when he was asked about the removal of supporters of the then People’s National Congress (PNC) when the PPP/C came into power in 1992, Rohee denied that the party had done the same thing.
He said witch-hunting is the “reckless and whimsicall, political motive – just dismiss people without any reason or without an explanation whatsoever simply because you feel that they can’t be trusted because they spoke on a political platform and therefore their services must be terminated.”
Moreover, Rohee contended “that did not occur in the 1992/1993 period” when the PPP/C would have taken power.
The General Secretary was also asked to respond to the question whether as a politician he would be comfortable working with people who openly sought support for the opposing party, for example, Permanent Secretaries who would have been on the party’s list of candidates.
And Rohee responded, “I see no reason why those persons should not have been retained by Government.” He said unless there is incontrovertible evidence that the persons were unlawful in carrying out their tasks, “then should action be taken against them.” (Rebecca Ganesh)