Minister of State, Joe Harmon had dismissed comments from Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo about filing private criminal charges against government officials, as laughable.

On Monday, Mr. Jagdeo told the media that a case could be proven that the 21-month-old Coalition administration has moved to enrich itself when the administration gave itself a salary increase bigger than anyone else.

Opposition Members of Parliament were also granted an increase in their salaries. 

Minister Harmon on Friday stated that he almost laughed when, he saw the statement. He said it is clear that the Leader of the Opposition is seeking to deflect attention from possible criminal charges that could be heading to members of the last government

“There are several matters which are now at the Special Organized Crime Unit and for which they are receiving International help in bringing these cases to the Court, the wheels of Justice turns slowly but surely”, the Minister stated.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo told a Monday news conference at Freedom House that the Opposition was preparing documents to proceed with its case against the Government. He claimed too that the employees of the Integrity Commission were being relieved of their duties and believes that may be a move to set the stage for tampering of evidence. 

But today, the Minister of State said Mr. Jagdeo should be the last person talking about filing criminal charges about anything.

The Inter-American Council on Human Rights, according to Harmon, in one case that was presented to it in relating to the killings that rocked Guyana under the tenure of Jagdeo as President cited him as one of the persons that should be accountable for what transpired.

The Minister also recalled a report from the Council of Hemispheric Affairs which stated that Jagdeo will go down in history as a man who has done absolutely nothing for his nation while in Office.

“That he could only receive, the lowest of marks from any independent evaluation through his tolerance of crime, racism and dismal social progress”.

Minister Harmon explained that several reports have been laid before SOCU and those reports concern the Forensic audits conducted on the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), the New Guyana Marketing Corporation, the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Guyana Power and Light (GPL), GO-Invest, MMA and the Met Office.
These are matters which concern criminal activities being investigated with the view of laying charges against persons in the courts, he noted.

Additionally, it was stated too that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been receiving information whereby tax laws were breached and this is another area that will see activities. 

 The Minister of State explained that the Government is now faced with correcting bad expending by the previous Government spanning from the tenure of Jagdeo – especially in education and infrastructure.

He noted that the Government is doing as much as it could with the available resources.

(Handel Duncan)