Stabroek News
July 27, 2001

PNC REFORM leader, Desmond Hoyte says that the dialogue process between himself and President Bharrat Jagdeo is in jeopardy because of the actions of Prime Minister Sam Hinds.

In supporting the Prime Minister, Hoyte says, President Jagdeo is either guilty of acting in bad faith or signalling the lack of coordination of his administration's activities.

He told a Congress Place press conference yesterday that the problems caused by the actions of Prime Minister Hinds would have to be resolved before the dialogue process resumes. But he stressed that the impasse at the level of the talks between himself and the President would not prevent the committees they had set up from continuing with their work.

Hoyte said that among the Prime Minister's actions which had caused him concern were the promulgation of the amended Wireless Telegraphy regulations and the conduct of parallel negotiations outside the ambit of the Bauxite Resuscitation Committee.

But he told reporters that despite the impasse, he had not given up on the dialogue process as politics was the art of the possible and a way would have to be found to surmount the problems. Hoyte did not discount meeting President Jagdeo at some time, but stressed that when they did the first thing that would be discussed would be actions of Prime Minister Hinds.

He said that the Prime Minister's actions contradicted the terms of reference of the committees on bauxite resuscitation and on radio monopoly and non-partisan boards and the spirit of the dialogue between himself and the President. Also that while he understood the President not abandoning the Prime Minister the price of that support was the grave jeopardy in which it put their dialogue.

Describing the Prime Minister's action as akin to that of a bull in a china shop, the PNC/R leader said that Prime Minister could not be unaware of the mandate of the committees and his attempt to mislead people about the task of the committee could only irritate the members of the committee.