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 Co-operative 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 from 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’ 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’ 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 traditional 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 de- part 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 as-