Georgetown: In the aftermath of President David Granger distancing himself and his caretaker administration from hiring a United States (US) lobbying firm, despite official records filed with the United States government, APNU and AFC General Secretaries Joseph Harmon and David Patterson teamed up and signed another contract with the lobbying firm JJ&B, LLC.
The agreement will expire on March 30, 2021
The initial contract document was filed with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act on March 31, 2020. It was signed by Joseph Harmon as the then Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency.
The President was reportedly unaware of Harmon’s actions. As such the President then removed Harmon as Director General and assigned him as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Task Force (NCTF).
However, new documents filed with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) on April 24, 2020 indicate that a new contract was signed between the lobbying firm and the APNU/AFC Coalition on April 20.
That new agreement was signed by Harmon and Patterson on behalf of the coalition, and Bart Fisher of JJ&B.
According to the public document, the agreement will expire on March 30, 2021, and will attract a monthly retainer payment of US$40,000. The contract may be renewed or terminated at an earlier day by mutual agreement.
The contract details a number of projects through which the lobbying firm will “promote the interests of the Coalition”.
Among those projects is engagement with contacts in the Office of the President of the U.S. including the country’s National Security Council.
JJ&B will also seek to restore legitimacy of the Government of Guyana by engaging the U.S. Department of Justice. Contacts within the U.S. Department of State will also be lobbied by underscoring the importance of the U.S. partnership with Guyana, the document states.
The firm will also endeavor to “improve the perception” of the APNU+AFC, as it has been tainted by the discoveries of electoral fraud which sought to hand it a victory at the polls on March 2.
The contract states that the electoral issues confronting the Coalition requires “experienced public policy experts with direct relationships with the principals in the U.S. Government responsible for managing the U.S. -Guyana relationship”.
Harmon, who is the co-chair of the APNU+AFC 2020 elections campaign, is one of four government ministers who had been forced to resign after the local courts ruled that dual citizens could not be Members of Parliament.
While the Head of State denied any affiliation with the lobbyist firm, the initial dossier that was filed late March listed the Guyana Government as the ‘foreign principal’; the Ministry of the Presidency was named the agency that is being represented by the firm; and Harmon, was named as the official with whom the company engages.
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