AG accuses opposition of constitutional vulgarity of obscene proportion - during Budget debate
Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall during a rousing presentation that nailed opposition criticisms, and at times had the House erupting in laughter, explained that the National Assembly cannot take a position that is contrary to the constitution and the law, it has a responsibility to ensure that these are adhered to.
The AG, in exposing the premeditated plan of the combined Opposition weeks ago to cut the budget, outlined aspects of the ruling made by Chief Justice Ian Chang regarding the Opposition’s ability, or lack thereof, to cut the budget.
He quoted from a Kaieteur News article which states that ‘they (the AFC) can only approve or not approve. While this is just a preliminary ruling, it must be borne in mind that rulings of the court must be complied with until such time as they are overturned or reversed. Society will descend into anarchy if bodies or persons decide to not comply with rulings of the court, regardless of how they may feel about a specific judgment’.
Cutting the budget
The AFC is insisting that it can cut the Budget because the ruling by the Chief Justice was preliminary.
“It should be recalled that there was also a preliminary ruling in the case of the challenge to the denial of the right of Minister (Clement) Rohee to speak in the National Assembly, and when the final ruling came there was a clear and unambiguous injunction that it was binding.
In that ruling the Chief Justice had noted that while it was not for the courts to interfere with the workings and operations of the National Assembly, the court was the guardian of the constitution and has the jurisdiction to determine whether the actions of the National Assembly were in contravention of the Constitution.
The AG also recalled the instances when the government took to the court, including for the opposition’s cutting the 2012 budget, gagging of Minister Rohee and, APNU Member Desmond Trotman taking the AG to court regarding the Lotto Fund.
Minister Nandlall pointed out that APNU’s Member of Parliament Carl Greenidge in his presentation had accused the government of violating the law, the constitution of the land, for presenting a budget that was too small. The Minister stated that the government, repeatedly, in the 10th parliament has had to hold steadfast to the spirit of the constitution and law of the land, and the Opposition has indeed embarked upon a veritable plethora of constitutional actions which have brought them into collision with the constitution.
“The outcome to Mr. Greenidge’s favourite Article 2:22: (a) of the constitution…Mr. Greenidge is arguing and he has a Bill to that effect pending in the House, that the budget is presented in the wrong format…the arguments as I comprehend them are that the items listed in budget 2:22: (a) namely the judiciary, rights commission and the Auditor General’s Office, they should prepare and present their own budget ,and they in relation to the others (excluding the auditor general) prepare and send their budget to the Clerk of the National Assembly who should present it to this Parliament, and in relation to the Auditor General that they should prepare their budget and send it to the Public Accounts Committee where on this instance Mr. Greenidge is the chair and that he will present the budget,” the Minister said.
Greenidge’s arguments are without merit, he said, and explained that the constitution distributes power by the doctrine of separation of power of government into three categories namely the legislative, executive and judiciary.
“Among those powers distributed to the executive is the financial responsibility of the state…among those financial responsibilities is the functional responsibility and obligation of preparing and presenting the national estimates of Guyana… Article 2:18 says that the Minister responsible for finance or any other Minister designated by the President shall cause to be prepared and lay before the National Assembly within 90 days after the commencement of each financial year the expenditure for that year,” Minister Nandlall stated.
Constitutional vulgarities
“Further, the constitution does not say that the budget should be taken to the Clerk, and what Greenidge is saying is not an ordinary constitutional breach, but he is violating the separation of powers because he is shifting power from the executive to the legislature and to himself.
“He is violating the constitution…these are constitutional vulgarities of obscene proportions,” he said.
Minister Nandlall made reference to a report that was done in Trinidad and Tobago in 2000 where a similar incident occurred and the then President called for an inquiry into the Judiciary.
Budget cut will hurt people, not Gov’t
“The Opposition in this House regrettably have expressed the intention, even prior to the presentation of the budget and of course subsequent to the presentation of the budget, they have expressed the unfortunate intention to cut budget 2013.”
He illustrated that he had looked very carefully at the way that desire was expressed which gives the impression that by cutting the budget the Opposition feel that they are hurting the government.
“If they intend to cut the budget to hurt the government that is not what they are doing…they are hurting the Guyanese people…they are putting us in a state of anti-development when they cut the budget, it is not about the government,” Minister Nandlall declared.
He noted that in a televised programme recently, members of the Opposition including Carl Greenidge, Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo discussed the National Budget, the instruments they would use to cut the budget and the projects they were going to cut.
“I was listening with rapt attention because so engrossed were these members, I could see the excitement in their eyes as they were discussing the instruments they would use…Mr. Ramjattan spoke very passionately about the size of his instrument- he said the bigger the budget the bigger the size…it appears as though cutting the budget was some form of political masturbation,” Minister Nandlall said.
Among the projects identified are Amaila Falls, Cheddi Jagan Airport expansion and the Specialty Hospital.
Minister Nandlall asked if in the year 2013 Guyanese are not entitled to a reliable, cheap and renewable source of electricity, if Guyanese aren’t allowed the best health care in the world and whether they are not permitted to benefit from a modern airport.
“Their government is prepared to give it to them, and the Opposition is prepared to take it away from them,” he said.
The AG highlighted that the Opposition seem to be the only ones who are unsupportive of the $208.8 Billion, 2013 National Budget; a budget that touches the lives of every single Guyanese.
In response to opposition’s calls for the Government side to meet with the citizens, the Attorney General noted that they have done so with individuals and organisations, and there have been endorsements of the budget, including from the Private Sector Commission, Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and multi-stakeholders who attended the meeting held by President Donald Ramotar.