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Saying Legal Affairs Ministry left dormant for five years “inaccurate” – MP Roysdale Forde
Opposition Member of Parliament, Roysdale Forde
Opposition Member of Parliament, Roysdale Forde has refuted statements from the governing People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) that the Legal Affairs Ministry under the stewardship of Minister Basil Williams was left “dormant” for the five years that the APNU+AFC Coalition was in office.
According to Forde, the Budget Speech also “inaccurately” stated that apart from a few Anti- Money Laundering Bills, there were no major legislation passed.
“This is nothing further from the truth,” the MP claimed, stating that records show that the period 2015-2020 was “one of the most active periods of Legislative activity and a period in which significant and consequential Bills were passed.”
Further, he said that a total of 96 Acts along with 208 pieces of subsidiary legislation were produced by the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs.
“The notable improvements to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism legal and regulatory framework,” he added “by way of enactment of Amendment Acts and Regulations, under the APNU/AFC government are indeed worthy of mention.”
Added to this, he said, during the 11th Parliament, the Legal Affairs Ministry pushed out several Acts to strengthen the legislative framework to address corruption. These include the enactment of: The State Asset Recovery Act 2017; The Witness Protection Act 2018; and The Protected Disclosures Act 2018.
Several pieces of legislation, aimed at promoting a strong and resilient financial system, modernizing the financial sector and providing protection and greater access to services within the sector, were also enacted, Forde said.
Among those are: The Insurance Act 2016; The National Payments System Act 2018; The Deposit Insurance Act 2018; The Bank of Guyana (Amendment) Act 2018; The Financial Institutions (Amendment) Act 2018.
Further, Forde highlighted that there were several other enactments including: The Constitution (Amendment) Act 2015; The Coroner’s Act 2016; The Public Utilities Act 2016; The Telecommunications Act 2016; along with The Cybercrime Act 2016 + 2018.
The Opposition MP also noted that under the Criminal Justice Sector Reform Programme, guidelines, rules and procedures for the implementation of a Restorative Justice Programme have been developed.
“Further, he said, a Restorative Justice Bill of 2019 has been laid in the Assembly.”
Turning his attention to the 2020 Budget itself, Forde made the contention that “not a single piece of legislation” has been identified to advance or improve the Justice Sector.
“This is unacceptable. The babble by the Attorney General failed to remedy this situation. It is manifest that there will be grave policy incoherence,” the MP added.
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