AFC supports probe of excess spending by Finance Minister

Jul 26, 2014 News

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Says issue has triggered a “Constitutional Crisis”
The Alliance for Change (AFC) has announced that they are in support of the recent decision by Speaker of the National Assembly to have the Finance Minister face the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, has ruled that the spending of $4.5B by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh without the approval of the National Assembly, has raised serious questions that should be inquired into by the Committee of Privileges.
During a press briefing held yesterday AFC Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo said that the Speaker was right in his ruling and asserted that “In Guyana, the Committee of Privileges is like a quasi Court that would examine matters referred to it by the Speaker and report back to him.”
The party drew parallels with India, a Country which is regarded as highly democratic and whose Committee of Privileges could “recommend imprisonment and expulsion of an unruly Member of Parliament, in spite of them being a Minister of Government.”
The Motion to have the Minister face the Committee was tabled by Carl Greenidge, Member of Parliament from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), and seconded by Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan, Leader of the Alliance for Change.
According to Nagamootoo, the Motion forms part of a raft of measures against the unlawful and unconstitutional spending of monies from the Consolidated Fund “by the minority PPP/C government without the approval of the National Assembly, and in violation of the decision of the Assembly.”
He said that “the illegal spending has now triggered a Constitutional Crisis, which resulted in AFC placing President Donald Ramotar on notice of our intention to move a vote of no confidence in his government.”
Another measure Nagamootoo outlined is the laying of a formal complaint which was submitted by AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan to the Commissioner of Police for possible criminal charges against Ashni Singh, for violating provisions of the law in accessing and spending tax dollars without approval by the National Assembly.
He alluded that the combined opposition is still working on legal proceedings to be filed in the Constitutional Court to “block the government from further unlawfully dipping its paws into Nation’s Treasury.”
This is the second action by the majority combined opposition to impeach the Finance Minister before the Committee of Privileges.
According to Nagamootoo, the first censure motion is somewhat in a limbo and could be discontinued now that this second complaint has been referred to the Committee.
Article 218

Attorney General Anil Nandlall had in defence of the Finance Minister said, the issue raised in the Motion to have the Minister committed to a Committee of Privileges, is purely a legal one.
He said that Article 218 provides for monies to be drawn from the Consolidated Fund outside of the strictures imposed by Article 217.
“In short, Article 218 is but an exception to Article 217…In other words, Article 217 sets out the general rule and Article 218, the exceptions to that rule.”
He contends that this is precisely why the wording of Article 218 succeeds the words of Article 217.
Treasurer of the AFC Dominic Gaskin, speaking to the justification raised by AG Anil Nandlall over the Finance Minister having the right to spend the $4.5B which was disapproved by the combined opposition said that it is not true.
He said that Article 218 3(B) is not an instruction or authorization to spend money “if you read it, it says clearly that if it is found that monies have been expended that were not appropriated, that is if it is found, you table in the Parliament a Statement of Excess or a Supplementary Estimate as the case may be.”
He said there is nowhere implied in that language any authorization to go out and spend money, nor is it stated or implied that “that article is not an exception to anything else that is written in the constitution. It is not an exception, it is very clear.”
Gaskin is calling on the Minister of Finance to indicate to the Guyanese public, where in Article 218 (3) of our Constitution “he finds the authority to deliberately spend moneys beyond what has been legitimately appropriated by the National Assembly.”
The party says it also completely rejects the notion that the ruling of the High Court in the matter of the 2012 reductions of the estimates of expenditures “represents an authorization for anyone to act in contravention of Article 217(1) of the Constitution and/or Section 16 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act.”

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