-PM rails against Ramson’s non-submission of report

After intense scrutiny, the sum of $80M was approved at the level of the Committee of Supply in the National Assembly to initiate the process of constitutional reform and finance the Department of Governance and the Office of the Commissioner of Information.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo won approval of the House after being grilled by Opposition shadow Minister of Finance, Bishop Juan Edghill, who was backed by People Progressive Party (PPP) Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira.

During the initial stage of consideration of the budget estimates allotted to the Office of the Prime Minister, Edghill enquired about the $80M allocated to the line item “Other” under Current Expenditure.
In response to Edghill’s request for a breakdown of the multi-million-dollar allocation, the Prime Minister explained to the Committee of Supply that the salaries, gratuity and vacation allowance for the Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson Snr, amount to $36M. Ramson, according to the Prime Minister, takes home a monthly salary of $1.7M.

However, the Prime Minister complained that Ramson has not delivered a report on his work in recent years. “I have written him, he has given no report of his work over the years, and I understand that he has no staff and no office,” Prime Minister Nagamootoo said.

He noted that the remaining $44M will be used to finance the Department of Governance and to establish a Secretariat for Constitutional Reform, but he said that that secretariat would be established only after the tabling of the Constitutional Reform Consultative Bill, which is expected early next year.

In addition to the provisions in the budget, it was disclosed that $40M have been pledged by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to aid in the process of constitutional reform.

Turning his attention to the Department of Governance, Prime Minister Nagamootoo further explained that the department was placed under his watch following the dissolution of the Ministry of Governance. “We haven’t been able to staff that department fully,” he told the Chair of the Committee of Supply, Dr. Barton Scotland, but noted that there is a Director of Governance.

That announcement sparked curiosity among the Opposition benches, with the Chief Whip asking the Prime Minister to disclose the name of the Director of Governance and the person’s emolument. It was then disclosed that the Director of Governance is Tamara Khan, an attorney-at-law who was transferred to the department, which was previously headed by Minister Raphael Trotman.

“Is that person related to Imran Khan (the Director of Public Communication)?” former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall asked, as he jumped to his feet upon hearing the Prime Minister’s response. That question was not permitted by the Chair of the Committee of Supply, who contended that it was inappropriate. “I will not allow that question in the context of what we are doing,” Dr. Scotland told members on both sides of committee.

In search of more answers, Edghill then turned his attention to the 31 contracted employees working with the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. In response to the PPP front bencher’s queries on Government’s position on contract workers, it was explained that the workers were inherited and were not taken off of the contract establishment. However, the Ministry has started the process of transferring persons into the fixed establishment.

“Already there are five persons who have received public service training and are being transitioned into the Public Service,” he pointed out. After seeking the names of the top brass of the Office of the Prime Minister and their positions and emoluments, the Opposition members were told that the Director of Public Information, Imran Khan, is paid a monthly salary of $551,200.