Latest update March 24th, 2025 7:05 AM
Judiciary to see financial independence under new administration
During the life of the Tenth Parliament, Khemraj Ramjattan, a lawyer who once served as President of the
Attorney General,
Basil Williams
Guyana Bar Association, said that as long as the government controls the purse strings of certain agencies, those agencies will never be fully independent.
He made that point as he stood on the floor of the National Assembly seeking to convince People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Members of Parliament to support a Bill to secure lump sum allocations for several fundamental rights agencies. Among those was the judiciary. But despite all the arguments, and despite the fact that the Bill was approved on the floor even without the PPP/C support, the then President, Donald Ramotar, refused to assent to the piece of legislation in order to make it law. Therefore, the previous administration continued to treat the judiciary as a budgeted agency.
But it is all about to be over. According to newly appointed Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration will ensure that the judiciary is allowed to function with full independence so it can feel secure enough to, at all times, act in the best interest of the people.
During a recent interview at his Carmichael Street office, Williams told Kaieteur News that it is quite unfortunate that the judiciary had to be dependent on the previous administration for financial support per line item.
He said, “They (the judiciary) suppose to be independent. They suppose to receive lump sum payments. It is not supposed to be a budget agency where the Minister can cut line items.”
Williams said that the Bills that were approved during the life of the Tenth Parliament but were not assented to will be returned to the Eleventh Parliament. He said that this one will be a matter of priority.
When this Bill is passed, a lump sum allocation will be given to the Head of the Judiciary “and they then determine their priorities.”
The Bill was piloted by the then shadow Minister of Finance Carl Greenidge, who is now Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The agencies listed in the Bill to become “independent” are the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Judicial Service Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Police Service Commission, the Teaching Service Commission, the Public Service Appellate Tribunal, the Public Procurement Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Guyana Elections Commission.
At the end of a fiery debate that the Bill attracted in the Tenth Parliament, the then Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, emphatically told the House that he would have advised President Donald Ramotar not to assent to the Bill.
The government’s unwavering position as it relates to the Bill was that the administration has never been one to directly try to control or impose authority over any of the agencies and as such, sees no need to amend the constitution just to facilitate what the opposition is seeking to do, “as such we will not support this Bill.”
Greenidge, back then, had cited the case of former Attorney General Dr Doodnauth Singh whose benefits were withheld as a result of a problem he had with former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
He also pointed out the case of former Justice Jainarayan Singh who had ruled that the government compensate the owner of Toucan Suites after police and soldiers destroyed the building to get to seasoned criminal Linden ‘Blackie’ London.
Also cited was the Major General (Ret’d) Norman McLean who recently sued the government for $7.9M in gratuity which he is owed for the past 22 years.
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