Latest update December 4th, 2024 2:40 AM
Constitutional Reform Commission still to begin work three months after installation
Members of the CRC with President Ail following the swearing in ceremony on April 3, 2024.
Kaieteur News – The work of the Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) is yet to begin its work, three months after members took their oaths of office before President Irfaan Ali.
Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Ganesh Mahipaul revealed in a Facebook post on Tuesday that since swearing in, Commissioners on the CRC have not met.
Mahipaul, who is also a commissioner on the CRC, told Kaieteur News in a subsequent invited comment that not only has the CRC not met but its members have been left in the dark about the reason for the delays.
He noted: “Since, we took office to now there has been no meeting, no email, no form of communication whatsoever to the commissioners to tell us what is going on so we are at a loss to know where we stand…”
During the interview, Mahipaul emphasized that the work of the CRC should be handled with more alacrity given its importance in addressing fundamental rights, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, electoral reforms, and bolstering integrity in public office.
The Opposition MP pointed out that efforts to bring about constitutional reform had already faced notable delays for over a decade.
“In fact, it [constitutional reform] was on the manifesto of both the People Progressive Party Civic and was also in the manifesto of APNU AFC [A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance for Change] Party. You would recall that the APNU AFC began some work along the lines of constitutional reform while in office with the then Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo,” Mahipaul said.
Giving a timeline of efforts to bring about the constitutional change, Mahipaul noted that after several failed attempts, in 2022 legislation was finally passed in the National Assembly for the formation of this Constitutional Reform Commission.
The law also mandated the commissioners to go ahead begin the process of constitutional reform. However, the CRC commissioner noted that a year elapsed before work towards putting together the constitutional reform commission started.
“There was no move towards appointing commissioners. However a year ago the commissioners were appointed and retired Justice Carl Singh was appointed the chairman,” Mahipaul added.
According to the Opposition MP, at the time that the appointment was made by President Irfaan Ali, the commissioners were given the impression that the work of the commissioner would start soon.
Given the delays and lack of explanation to the commissioners for the delays, Mahipaul opined that the Government may not be taking the issue of constitutional reform seriously.
“I reached out to the Chairman for an explanation for the delays but to no avail…However, I am of the opinion that the government is equally culpable for not taking steps to ensure the commission is functioning.”
He continued: “The PPP/C may proffer that there is a Chairman to the Commission and the Chairman has to act but at the end of the day, the Chairman is a creature of the President by virtue of his appointment…So the situation begs the question how important really is constitutional reform to the government.”
Meanwhile, Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, who is also a member of the CRC explained that while he cannot speak to the reasons for the delays, he can only dispose confidence in the efforts being made to ensure that constitutional reforms becomes a reality.
“I was a delegate of the President tasked with a responsibility by his Excellency to constitute the Commission, to make the seat of the Commission available, to furnish and equip the seat of the Commission so that it can conduct its affairs, and to ensure that the members of the Commission were appointed and took their oath of office. I have discharged those functions,” the Attorney General said on his weekly programme Issues in the News.
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