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APNU warns: Executive should not interfere with constitutional mandates governing the judiciary
(Kaieteur News) – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Friday agreed with Chancellor of Judiciary (ag) Roxane George that the judiciary must control its own funds stating that the “executive branch must not interfere with the constitutional mandates governing the legislative branch.”
The acting Chancellor renewed calls for the full implementation of constitutional financial autonomy on Monday, insisting that the judiciary must return to being a self-accounting entity free from executive interference.
General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Sherwin Benjamin.
She pointed out that the Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Act (FMAA), passed in 2015, grants financial autonomy to constitutional agencies by allowing them to draw directly from the Consolidated Fund. The legislation was intended to enable agencies—including the Judiciary, GECOM, the Service Commissions and the Office of the Ombudsman—to perform their constitutional functions independently.
Subsequent amendments to the FMAA, including changes introduced by the Irfaan Ali administration in 2021, sought to clarify budgetary procedures and oversight mechanisms for constitutional agencies.
However, Justice George stressed that true autonomy remains unrealised, underscoring the need for the Judiciary to manage its own finances with full accountability to Parliament.
“Most importantly, I reiterate, the judiciary looks forward to full compliance with article 122A of the Constitution of Guyana, and the return of the judiciary to being a self-accounting entity which manages its tender processes with full accountability to Parliament regarding how it spends its budgetary allocation.
As far as I am aware, Guyana was the first territory in CARICOM to provide for such autonomy to the judiciary. Therefore, full implementation of the fiscal management provisions is necessary to fulfill the constitutional mandate and retain our leadership in this regard,” Chancellor George said.
General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform Sherwin Benjamin echoed Justice George’s call saying, “When the independence of judges is undermined, ordinary citizens lose protection under the law.”
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