The Prime Minister has broken tradition and rebuffed our interview attempts when we tried to speak to him about the budget. But today the government trotted out Jose Coye who publicly defended the budget. Today however we will have his remarks on the G7 pact of August and his interpretation of it.
Alfonso Noble,
In August there was a pact, seven of you all signed on to a paper saying that if one of you is out of the Cabinet, none of you will be back in. Fast forward a few months down to December, Mark Espat is not in the Cabinet and Cordel Hyde decides to stick to the pact. Nobody else does. Why did this happen?
Hon. Joe Coye, Minister of Works and Public Service
"What we stood for in August of 2004 is what I trust we all stand for today. The 3 ministers that are not in that Cabinet were three good and competent ministers. As to the pact, I take it to be an internal matter and I am not prepared to discuss whether we in or out of the pact. What is important to me as the individual, and I speak for myself on this, being in the Cabinet and being outside of the Cabinet was never the end for me. It was the means to achieve an end and that's my commitment. Whatever I was committed to in August, I am still committed to and maybe even stronger."
Alfonso Noble,
While you might say its an internal matter, its an internal matter on a big screen in the public in a very public manner. Though it may be internal its very public.
Hon. Joe Coye,
"That's why I am saying I am not prepared to interpret what we agreed to. I will leave it to you all to do it."
Tomorrow we will have Coye's comments on the budget as presented last Friday by the Prime Minister.
