Gov’t outreaches are ‘budgeted expenses’- Harmon

According to Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon the recent rise in governmental outreaches are all “budgeted expenses”.

Responding to a question from Stabroek News at Friday’s PostCabinet Briefing, Harmon resisted attempts to compare the “outreaches” with the pre-election campaigning practised by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in 2011 and 2015.

“We are two different administrations. The PPP because they were in power for 23 years felt that they could do anything. We are law abiding, we act within the confines and the constraints of the constitution. Therefore whatever we do can stand any level of scrutiny,” Harmon maintained.

Asked to identify the line item under which the outreaches were budgeted, Harmon maintained that each Minister has been provided sums for outreaches but would not identify a programme under which these sums were made available.

“These were matters which had been budgeted for in the 2019 budget,” he repeatedly stressed.

The “Government Comes to You” outreach programme began in Georgetown on March 27 and has since moved to towns and villages across most of the administrative regions.

Residents have been promised roads, water, land and improved services at government institutions while the opposition has criticized the programme as a “gimmick”.

The outreaches also come in the wake of the Caribbean Court of Justice statement that the government must function as a caretaker.