Judge dismisses Opposition’s challenge to Gov’t’s deposit of monies in Lotto Fund – Gov’t vindicated
On the 28th day of December, 2012, Justice Diane Insanally dismissed legal proceedings filed by APNU Member of Parliament, Mr. Desmond Trotman which challenged the constitutionality and legality of the Government’s deposit of proceeds from the lottery into a Developmental Fund popularly referred to as the “Lotto Fund”. The Judge ruled that the challenge was misconceived, struck it out and ordered the Applicant, Desmond Trotman to pay to the Respondent, the Attorney-General $50,000.00 (fifty thousand dollars) in costs.
Mr. Trotman was represented by Mr. Miles Fitzpatrick, S.C. and Mr. Christopher Ram. For several years now, Opposition politicians and critics of the Government including, Mr. Christopher Ram, a Chartered Accountant and Mr. Anand Goolsarran, a former Auditor General, have been heavily critical of the Government on this issue of depositing money in the “Lotto Funds” as opposed to depositing same directly into the Consolidated Fund. The Government’s contention has always been that it is perfectly lawful and proper and constitutional to place those monies in a fund separately and apart from the Consolidated Fund. Mr. Carl Greenidge had moved a Motion in the Parliament last year seeking to compel the Minister of Finance to deposit these monies directly into the Consolidated Fund contending that it was unlawful and unconstitutional to deposit it elsewhere.
In the debating this Motion in the National Assembly the Government argued that the Motion was misconceived and that the provisions of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, Article 216 of the Constitution and the Lotteries Act permit those monies to be keep outside of the Consolidated Fund and in a Development Fund. Using their one seat majority, however, the Opposition passed their Motion.
These were the identical issues raised by Mr. Trotman in the legal proceedings. He posed to the Court for determination, the following issues:-
(1) Whether Article 216 of the Constitution and sections 21 and 38 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003 require all monies paid to the Government of Guyana by the Guyana Lottery Company Limited under an agreement made between the said Government and Canadian Bank Note Limited and/or the Guyana Lottery Company for the conduct of a lottery in Guyana to be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
(2) Whether the monies received by the Government of Guyana from the Guyana Lottery Company Limited ought to have been paid in the past and ought to be paid in the future into the Consolidated Fund.
(3) A declaration that the failure of the Government to pay into the Consolidated Fund all the monies received from the Guyana Lottery Company Limited (GLC) under the said agreement is unconstitutional and illegal.
(4) A declaration that the expenditure by the Government of Guyana of monies received from the Guyana Lottery Limited without the authority of Parliament is unconstitutional and illegal.
The Court, in dismissing the matter, found that the deposit of the monies in the Development Fund of Guyana (Lotto Fund) is in accordance with Article 216 of the Constitution, the provisions of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act and the Lotteries Act, thereby vindicating the Government’s position. The administration hopes that this would put this matter to rest.
The Government takes this opportunity to encourage the Opposition to take more of these issues with which they have difficulties to the Court for resolution rather than using them in the Press and elsewhere to perpetuate their self-induced perception of lack of transparency and accountability in Government’s business and to lend sustenance to their omnipresent zombie of corruption in all spheres of Governmental activities.