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Budget debates…“Oh what a tangled web the government has weaved …” – APNU’s Basil Williams
By Latoya Giles
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) frontbencher Attorney at law Basil Williams has described this year’s budget as a “tangled web” which the government has weaved.
Williams pointed out that the government has taken the time to describe yet another annual budget as the “biggest’ the country has seen, but questioned for whose good this development would be.
APNU frontbencher Basil Williams
“The question is who will benefit from this “biggest” budget, the masses of people or the cabal and their friends?”
Williams asked whether the lives of ordinary Guyanese have undergone a qualitative change or are still attended by shortages. According to the APNU MP, “there is a frightening arrogance, a callous disregard on the part of those in the minority government for the best practices in the government… Nepotism and corruption have become the signature of the government”.
“What kind of mind in the full glare of an ever-present call for equity in the broadcast media would give its family and friends most of the frequencies allotted for radio and television…well knowing that it would be revealed to the world,” Williams posited. He further stated that he could not understand what type of administration would seek to “covet the Plaisance Community Centre ground to its own purpose without a care for villagers, especially the youths who have for generations meaningfully used it”.
“The truth is, life for many Guyanese is a continuous struggle, particularly those who have been marginalised and discriminated against since 1992.” Williams noted that it was Housing Minister Irfaan Ali who had “regaled” about a “dreamy Guyana”, but the country’s per capita income in 2012 was US$300. He called this another deception by the government.
According to the APNU Member of Parliament, “the learned authors Hunt and Sherman showed that the per capita income to GDP was an erroneous measure of the prosperity of the masses”. Williams said it was “an incontrovertible fact that most of the wealth of Guyana is distributed amongst a small 20 percent cabal while the other 80 percent of Guyanese have to scramble for the crumbs”.
He further asked whether the Finance Minister (Dr. Ashni Singh) was serious about this year’s budget theme, “Overcoming Challenges Together, Accelerating Gains for Guyana”.
Williams reflected that for consecutive years the Opposition Leader had written to the President requesting a “tripartite” approach to developing a budget in which all Guyanese would benefit. He said that since this sensible proposition was rejected, one could not argue that this “togetherness” call is yet another deception.
Legal
Williams went on to say that it was apparent that the government believes that the delivery of justice lies in more infrastructure. He said that billions have been spent on constructing new courts and refurbishing existing ones. The APNU MP stated that some two billion dollars is allocated to continue the “splurge”, but the Leonora and the Georgetown Magistrates’ courts are not yet operational.
“With all this money which is being pumped into the system, why can’t there be any modernised courtrooms which are fully air conditioned, fitted with microphones and digital recording systems which would speed trials up?”
“The Deeds Registry is still afflicted by lost Transports and surely developing of standard forms would speed up transactions therein.”
Williams also asserted that the Judicial Service Commission must be fully constituted. He said that there needs to be a fast-tracking mechanism to the Caribbean Court of Justice and the division of functions and distribution of the responsibilities for the administration of the courts between the Chancellor and Chief Justice must be resorted.
He affirmed that although the Criminal Law (Procedure) Amendment Act (2008) introduced paper committals into law to avoid unreasonable delays, the question is if it is being applied by all magistrates or by “a few enlightened ones”. Williams was forthright in expressing that the jury must remain sacrosanct in the country’s jurisprudence. He said that it would be an outrage to empower the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal a jury’s verdict.
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