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American Chambers of Commerce to discuss implication of CCJ consequential orders for business in Guyana
American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Guyana will be hosting a forum tomorrow to discuss the implication of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) consequential orders for business in Guyana.
Fixed for the Marriott Hotel, the meeting seeks to explore the implications of those consequential orders that stemmed from the successful passage of a No-Confidence Motion against government on the night of December 21, 2018 in the National Assembly.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall and former Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran will address the forum.
About three weeks after the Chief Justice’s ruled that the No-Confidence Motion was properly passed against government; the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) had said that its members reported a significant drop in business amid the current political climate.
A few days after the CCJ rulings, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) contends that Guyana has been forced to stand in wait, its economy, investment and the business of the country made to suffer, while a general environment of uncertainty prevails across the country.
Among other things, the PSC said it wished to remind the President that the CCJ in its declaration and orders stated that “upon the passage of the motion of No Confidence in the government” on December 21, 2018 “that clear provisions of Article 106 immediately become engaged”, that is, that “the Cabinet, including the President, shall resign if the government is defeated”.
“It is totally unacceptable, therefore, to the Commission that the President has refused to honour the Constitution in announcing that the Cabinet shall continue to function.”
It is the Private Sector’s view that the President, by his behaviour, has put at risk all private sector entities and other organisations made subject to contracts and any other action authorized by the Cabinet, by presuming them to be legal.
“The Private Sector Commission has, therefore, advised its members to seek legal advice in this regard,” the statement added.
The PSC had also called on the President and Leader of the Opposition to uphold the rule of law as urged by the international community. The PSC, therefore, contended that Guyana has been forced to stand in waiting, its economy, investment and the business of the country made to suffer, while a general environment of uncertainty prevails across the country.
As it is, Government and Opposition are still at loggerhead over when elections should be held. The CCJ had emphasized that elections were due since March 21.
The Opposition is pushing for elections to be held on or before September 18, which it says is in keeping with the Constitution and the rulings of the CCJ. Government, on the other hand, is maintaining that a new voters’ list has to be created in order to conduct free, fair and credible elections. In this regard, GECOM has embarked on its house-to-house registration exercise, which commenced on July 20, and could run for 90 days.
The Opposition has mounted a court challenge to the unconstitutionality of the registration process, which it says will collude with the September 18 timeframe for elections. In fact, the Opposition is contending that the house-to-house registration is a deliberate attempt to prolong elections, which defeats the purpose of the No-Confidence Motion for early elections.
Government’s position is that the situation at hand has nothing to do with the fact that a No-Confidence Motion was successfully passed, but what GECOM considers best for conducting free, fair and credible elections—and that is conducting the house-to-house registration exercise. As a matter of fact, the Government insists that there is nothing in the CCJ’s ruling which suggest that elections must be held by September 18.
Attorney General Basil Williams in his submissions in response to the challenge to the house-to-house registration process acknowledged that the date for elections has already passed and it is now strictly within the remit and province of the National Assembly to extend the time for the holding, and not for the court to intervene.
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