Govt to sue Civil Society “leader”

Government has expressed its intention of taking legal action against the Guyana National Council on Public Policy (GNCPP) and its chairman, Dr Phillip Mozart Thomas so as to recover the over Gy$4 million owed for services provided.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon. He told reporters that Government has been keeping track of the organisation and Thomas.

Last week, the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC) reported that it was owed a total of Gy$4,208,360 for services provided to the organisation for its civil society summit held between December 17 and 19 last. It said too that the GNCPP might very well be bankrupt.

The management of the centre said after being issued an invalid cheque on the first day of the summit, it has been unable to contact Thomas.

Dr Luncheon said Government would be taking every available step to recover that money.

“The latest disclosure justified Government’s reservation… The services provided by Government to the organisation have been unpaid. The cheque was not honoured by the bank. Cabinet will be taking appropriate steps to recover that sum of money,” Luncheon declared at the Office of the President

The GNCPP and Dr Thomas have already been dubbed a facade by Government and sections of society. Dr Luncheon said following Government’s public warning about the organisation, it has found out some additional things which have given credence to its suspicions.

“Cabinet has followed the issue surrounding the December 17 gathering of Thomas and supporters which was intended to form a body of civil societies in Guyana. The [Office of the President] OP had already distanced itself from the event and the organisation, rejecting the reach out for talks.” Subsequent investigations further validated Government’s decision.

The GNCPP, between December 17 and 19 last, hosted a civil society summit. Apart from seeking the establishment of a Guyana National Civil Society Council (GNCSC), the objective was to seek a transition into a new dispensation of peace within society.

The summit got off to a disappointing start, however, as a few “big names” that were slated to address the audience, never showed up. Among them were President Donald Ramotar, who in a telephone interview with the GTI  had disassociated himself from the organisation and Thomas.

Dr Thomas had boasted of great success, notwithstanding the warning given by the OP to Guyanese citizens against becoming entangled with the organisation and its leader, the evening before the summit.

Even with Government’s non-support, on day two of the summit, which was moved to the body’s Secretariat, Thomas contended that the summit was a “phenomenal success”, bringing together a wide cross-section of society to enable the formation of the GNCSC.

Following the failure of the Council to involve Government in consultation during the summit, Thomas admitted that his organisation might have been too “rash” and would be giving itself and Government some time to recoup before seeking out another meeting.

According to him, the time might be right after Government “fully digests and analyses” the strategy used by the Council on the prior engagement.