Latest update November 5th, 2024 1:00 AM
Nandlall cites ‘doctrine of necessity’ in Patterson budget challenge case
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, S.C.
Kaieteur News – Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C, is asking the High Court to decline the request of APNU+AFC Parliamentarian, David Patterson, to find that the budget allocations for constitutional agencies by the National Assembly on September 01, 2020, were done contrary to Section 80 B(2) of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA).
In an affidavit response to Patterson’s claim, Nandlall argued to refuse the orders and declarations being sought by Patterson “since it would serve no useful purpose.” The Attorney General contends that failure to circulate the budget proposals for 23 constitutional agencies is justified by the doctrine of necessity.
Patterson, who is the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and who previously served as Public Infrastructure Minister under the previous APNU+AFC Government, complained that the proposals were not made available to his party before September 01, 2020, and as such, a breach of the Act was committed.
APNU/AFC Parliamentarian, David Patterson.
In his response however, the AG, noted the last time a budget was passed was in November 2018; being almost more than two years prior to the declaration of the March 2, 2020 election result.
He noted that during this period and in the absence of a budget, Guyana’s economy and productive sectors continued to plummet and the effective functioning of the State as a whole, became almost impossible.
The AG explained that fuelling Guyana’s “perilous state” was the COVID-19 global pandemic, which brought with it a heightened demand for health care services and brought Guyana’s economy to a grinding halt.
Further, Nandlall contends that given the country’s financial crisis, the present government was forced out of necessity to urgently pass an emergency budget so as to enable the Government to restore stability in Guyana and to offer much-needed relief to Guyanese given the delay in having the 12th Parliament convened and the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“An imperative necessity arose for immediate action to be taken to protect, preserve and safeguard the continuation of the effective functioning of the State. This necessity had arisen because of Guyana’s exceptional circumstances, commencing from December, 2018 and such circumstances had not been provided for in the Constitution nor contemplated by the framers of the Constitution,” the affidavit in support stated.
Additionally, the document pointed out that Government was obligated to “mop up” and bring into the public accounting architecture, billions of dollars that were unlawfully spent from the Consolidated Fund without Parliamentary approval and, as well as, billions of dollars drawn from the Contingency Fund without complying with the lawful requirements.
Nandlall said that, in those circumstances, the presentation of a National Budget resolved the unlawful spending which had taken place, as well as to secure Parliamentary approval as is required by the Constitution for spending for the remainder of the accounting year, became the Government’s paramount priority.
“So rather than establish Committees in the Parliament and focus on procedural matters, the Government out of necessity, was forced to bring the State of Guyana into substantial compliance with the Constitution,” the AG said, adding that it is in that context and in those circumstances that the 2020 Budget was presented and passed in the National Assembly.
He continued that “There was an absolute necessity to safeguard the continuation of the effective functioning of the State and there was no other course of action reasonably available to the present Government than the passing of an emergency budget.”
In the circumstances, Nandlall emphasized that the Government will rely on the doctrine of necessity to justify its action.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Fingerprinting and Finger-Pointing
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- No one, not even the staunchest supporters of Guyana’s electoral process, would claim... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
