Andy keeps post cabinet media briefing on focus; no questions about Ramnarine

Andy Johnson: “I don’t want to have to read the riot act."

Head of the Government Information Services Ltd (GIS) Andy Johnson told journalists on Thursday it was counter-productive to question ministers about the Reshmi Ramnarine matter.

The media and the opposition have refused to give up on the story about the apparent mixed signals about Ramnarine's appointment and her subsequent resignation as Director of the Security Services Agency (SSA).

Initial media reports said she was appointed as director of the Security Intelligence Agency (SIA) and suggested that staff at the SIA were upset because they felt Ramnarine was not qualified to hold the sensitive intelligence position. 

However the government clarified the matter saying she was handed the post for a 6-month period as Director of the SSA to help the merger of the two agencies.

In the midst of the media exposure Ramnarine resigned saying her security and the security of the agency had been compromised. Since then there have been conflicting reports about the matter and the Prime Minister .

At Thursday's post cabinet briefing, Johnson cut off a reporter's question to Finance Minister Winston Dookeran on the matter before the minister could offer a comment.

He said questions should focus on the event and suggested that the media were breaking the established rules for such briefings and suggested that reporters confine their questions to matters relating to the specific portfolios of Dookeran and Education Minister Tim Gopeesingh, who hosted the briefing.

"I think we are breaking the rules that we try to establish for this post-Cabinet news briefing on subjects that we have outlined,” Johnson said.

He added, “The Cabinet did have what I understand to be full, complex, substantial discussions on one of the issues occupying and generating a lot of public attention.

“It is not a matter that either minister is briefed upon to respond to any questions because the discussions and deliberations about that remain on the Cabinet table.

“So it is going to be counter-productive to try to get a status report. I imagine you all may want to ask questions on the issue from either of these ministers.”

Both Gopeesingh and Dookeran did confirm that they were present in Cabinet when the decision was taken to approve Ramnarine for the job. Gopeesingh said he met her "one or two times previously" but did not know her.

Gopeesingh followed Johnson's line and advised the reporters that he and his colleague were “not prepared to have any more discussions on this issue because we have not been briefed by Cabinet to make any further statements on this matter.”

Johnson intervened several times to keep the media briefing focused on the subject of the day despite efforts by reporters to return to the Ramnarine matter.

Johnson, a vertan journalist who now handles government information, told his former media colleagues he understands "the role that you all have to play but I think you all are breaking the rules.”

And had a warning. “I don’t want to have to read the riot act. The ministers have gone outside of what the Cabinet has decided for them to be discussing. They have said that the issue was discussed and they were prepared to say that the issue was still under consideration by the Cabinet and they have said that."