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CJ’s ruling intended to neutralize Opposition’s oversight role in the National Assembly- APNU
A partnerships for National Unity (APNU) through its leader David Granger says it does not accept Chief Justice Ian Chang’s ruling with respect to the ‘Budget-cut’ case that was delivered on Wednesday 29th January 2014.
Leader of the Opposition David Granger
He went even further to suggest that “the Chief Justice’s ‘decision,’ coming after 18 months of litigation- but just before the presentation of the 2014 Budget- seems intended to neutralize the Opposition’s vital oversight role in the National Assembly.
According to Granger, “the Opposition, if displeased with any item in the 2014 Budget, according to a rational interpretation of the ruling, must refuse to approve the entire Budget in order to give effect to their disapproval while from the government’s perspective, if it refuses to amend the Budget to the satisfaction of the Opposition it would therefore lead swiftly to “a major constitutional crisis and trigger a consequent General Election.”
Granger stressed that the Chief Justices’ ruling will have “unintended consequences” if they (APNU) are to interpret that the Opposition could either approve or disapprove the whole Budget. Such a decision he said, would ultimately lead to a constitutional crisis and unless they (APNU) are allowed to regulate their “own business which is provided for in the Constitution and unless we are allowed to delete or amend line items as happened in every part of the Common wealth, as we have done in 2012 and 2013 there is going to be a crisis because the so called negotiations which were promised to start on the 1st of July 2013 have not borne fruit and it is very likely at this point in time at the end of January that advanced preparation of the Budget has been completed.”
The consequences of which according to Granger would mean that the concerns of APNU have not been taken on board and if the “PPP Administration brings a Budget that we feel is contrary to the public interest, we are going to exercise our constitutional right to amend that Budget. The courts cannot intervene; the courts cannot intrude on the right of the National Assembly to exercise its oversight function in that regard” said Granger.
The Opposition leader in a press conference yesterday also expressed, that the Chief Justice’s ruling suggests that APNU cannot defend the decision of the National Assembly in the Courts of Law if taken there by the Government side.
He said that the Chief Justice’s decision to remove the Leader of the Opposition from the Budget cut case is “flawed.” Granger said that the counsel for the Leader of the Opposition was not in the position to represent the views of the Opposition leader even though it was the Opposition that cut the Budget.
“The Budget wasn’t cut by some invisible force, the Opposition cut the Budget and what the Chief Justice did is prevent the Opposition from speaking, even after attorneys from the Opposition leader appealed a decision by Justice Bovell -Drakes and Justice Rishi Persaud. Before the appeal could be heard the Chief Justice rushed for judgment to declare this decision, so they are many errors and those errors will be brought out in our appeal” said Granger. The Opposition leader said that with respect to this case it will be appealed in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
According to Granger, the Chief Justice’s ruling is not helpful to governance in this country and has created more problems than it has solved. He said that his decision has now put a “noose around the government that they must either bring a Budget which is approved in its entirety by the Opposition or to fail completely.”
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