…Williams accuses govt of bypassing statutory bodies in passage of major legislation
…Nandlall disagrees, says Ali has best record on consultation
The Government of Guyana has been accused of bypassing statutory bodies in the recent passage of a suite of legislation in the National Assembly- a claim Attorney General, Anil Nandlall rejected saying that the Irfaan Ali-led administration has held more consultations than any other governments.
Civil society groupings have also been called out for their silence on the issue, even as government continues to actively exclude the main opposition from major national discourses. Only recently a major local content consultation was held, which the main opposition said it was not invited to. The main opposition was also excluded from the consultations on the budget, although government reached out to a number of small parties that have no representation in Parliament.
In a letter to the editor last week former AG, Basil Williams SC said that the government has failed to consult with relevant stakeholders before the passage of a suite of major Legislation in Parliament, in breach of the Constitution. He said in an undemocratic manner the Government left stakeholders out in the cold before taking a number of bills to Parliament. Among the bills he listed are: The Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Bill 2021; (ii) Law Reform Commission (Amendment) Bill 2020; (iii) Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control)(Amendment) Bill 2021; (iv) The Adoption of Children (Amendment) Bill 2021, and (v) The Hire Purchase (Amendment) Bill 2020
Williams said in May 2015 when the APNU+AFC Government took office any thoughts of a “honeymoon period” were shattered by strident calls from certain stakeholders that the Government was breaching the Constitution to wit, Article 13, by taking Bills to Parliament before consulting with the relevant stakeholders. “In particular the Guyana Bar Association (GBA), the Private Sector Commission (PSC), the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) and the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), who sadly have not found it convenient to call out this Government in similar manner.
Williams said the Government’s omission to consult is even more perplexing since he left a comprehensive system of consultations together with an inventory of the relevant stakeholders, with the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs (AGC. MOLA). “The said system included inhouse consultations where stakeholders were given written invitations along with the relevant draft Bill, to attend a consultation in the Chambers’, boardroom. External consultations involved the renting of a public venue and a cybernetic approach between the Attorney General Chambers’ team of Presenters and stakeholders. All consultations were before laying any Bill in Parliament,” Williams wrote.
According to him the Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Act 2021 involved the question of removing the financial independence of the Judiciary which was restored to them by legislation passed by the APNU+AFC Government in 2015, and therefore demanded wide consultations with stakeholders before passage in Parliament, on the part of this Government. The Law Reform Commission (Amendment) Bill 2020 seeks to alter a fundamental constitutional regime relating to a process of arriving at a new or substantially altered Constitution, and required wide consultations, but to no avail.
The Adoption of Children (Amendment) Bill 2021 involves the serious issue of reducing international law embodied in the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption into municipal law, and begs for consultation.
“These are just a few highlights of the aforementioned Bills that were rushed and jammed through Parliament. The Failing of the Government is captured in the well-worn aphorism –“whats good for the goose is good for the gander.
Ali’s record on consultation
However, Nandlall in response said that to date, no government in Guyana’s history has been more inclusive than the President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali Administration. “I want to reject out of hand, this baseless allegation that the Irfaan Ali administration is not consulting. Everyday there is some form of consultation taking place in our Government; compare it with APNU/AFC over the past five years and it is chalk to cheese. I see Basil Williams talking…about consultations. He held consultations in relation to the SARA Act where he consulted widely with civil society, he received 100 recommendations and never incorporated one in the Bill.”
AG Nandlall also noted that every day ministers are in the fields consulting with the people who elected them. Just last weekend, President Ali was on the East Coast meeting with the people on community projects and fostering unity. “The Ministers of Housing recently had a big … consultation in relation to the Mandela Avenue to Eccles road, that is currently in the newspaper. I accompanied the Minister of Agriculture to Corentyne, Berbice where we consulted with the farmers about the construction of two roads, one at 58 Village and one at 52 Village. The President consulted with the people on West Coast Demerara for the construction of a new highway from the bridge to Parika,” the AG said.
The Attorney General also noted that the Government consulted with several opposition parties in preparation for Budget 2021. Nandlall however, failed to say that the main opposition was ignored. Added to that, he said, after only six months in Government, the Administration sent two Bills to the Select Committee, the Hire Purchase Bill 2020 and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Amendment Bill 2021. “Why you think we are sending it to the Select Committee? So that the Government will sit with the Opposition, civil society and stakeholders and go through the Bills clause by clause, hear from them.”
Pointing to the recently amended Law Reform Commission Act Attorney General said prior to the amendments, it provided for no form of consultation and allowed the Minister and President to elect the entire Law Reform Commission. The amended Act now calls for consultation with the private sector, the labour movement, the Rights Commissions, religious organisations, consumer representatives, and the National Toshaos Council before the Commission is appointed. Further, since taking office, President Ali has extended several invitations to the Coalition to have discussions on the way forward for Guyana’s development, all of which were rejected. This includes the meeting with former Presidents, which former President Mr. David Granger declined, consultations on the preparation of Budget 2021 and the recent consultation on the Local Content Policy.
In a recent press release the Guyana Human Right s Association in commenting on the widening of the consultative group for the law reform commission said that rather than attempt to either resolve this in isolation for the Law Reform Commission, the Attorney General and Ministry of Governance might want to seize this opportunity to review the whole issue, particularly in light of the fact that similar challenges are down the road in relation to electoral and Constitutional Reform.
The GHRA said specialized sub-committees, allowed for by the revised Law provide potential channels to accommodate an ambitious programme of reform without the need to overload the Commission itself.
“A suggested first step might be for the Minister to determine the sectors to be allocated places on the Commission taking into consideration the reform agenda to be addressed by the Commission and the interest in those sectors in having a place on the Commission. Secondly, put the onus on the designated sectors to devise and propose to the Minister what a fair, efficient and time-bound selection process might look like. Thirdly, following Ministerial approval of selection processes, each sector then implements its selection. In addition to ensuring the process is inclusive within each sector, personal criteria applicable to all candidates should be devised, to ensure integrity, competence and willingness to devote the time required.”
