‘THE CHICKENS HAVE COME HOME TO ROAST’

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 1st March 2014, 7:00 pm

As expected, the anti money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism legislation (AML/CFT) has not been passed in the National Assembly. The months of discourse, debate, committee meetings, efforts to compromise, public statements, even a visit by a CFATF official, have not yielded any positive results.

The losers and victims of the failure to pass the legislation will be the people of Guyana. The proposed amendments required a special effort to be flexible. Striking compromises would have been a win-win result for both Government and Opposition and for the people of Guyana. But compromising in Guyana’s politics shows weakness and is regarded as a bad precedent. It is not yet appreciated that compromise can demonstrate statesmanship which the electorate will welcome.

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NATIONAL HONOURS

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 22nd February 2014, 7:00 pm

In the past Guyanese looked forward to the announcement of national honours on Republic Day. Even though after 1992 they were announced on Independence Day in an effort to restore the celebration of Independence to pride of place, Republic Day has remained the larger event because of Mashramani. Today is a good day to reflect on the subject of national honours.

Since the awards were established, thousands of mostly deserving Guyanese have been honoured. However, the two past PPP/C Governments have awarded national honours only once each in 2002 and 2011. This Government has made no awards. Those Guyanese who toil selflessly for a lifetime in service of our country, even if most of the truly deserving make their contribution without the thought of national recognition, have ceased being acknowledged. As a result everyone now appears to have forgotten that a system of national honours exist and the sense of anticipation at an annual announcement, be it on Republic Day or Independence Day, has completely dissipated.

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THE CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE IN GUYANA

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 15th February 2014, 7:00 pm

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will sit in Guyana for the first time this week. It is long overdue but welcome nevertheless. Guyana and Barbados were the first countries to accede to the appellate jurisdiction of the Court and our own Justice Desiree Bernard, now retiring, has been one of its first members.

Guyana’s final court of appeal, the Privy Council, was abolished in 1970. The PPP supported the establishment of our Court of Appeal but argued that the Privy Council should be retained for constitutional matters. It was felt that the Guyana judiciary was already being politically subverted and that a window of impartiality was necessary to protect at least the constitutional rights of the Guyanese people. The PPP did not succeed.

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RESOLVING THE BUDGET CONUNDRUM

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 8th February 2014, 7:00 pm

The Chief Justice’s decision in the budget case will not necessarily lead to what Opposition Leader, David Granger, said might be a ‘car crash’ or ‘unintended consequences.’ If the Government and Opposition extrapolate from the Chief Justice’s conclusions, a budget can be produced.

Stripping away the complexities from the Chief Justice’s analysis, a procedure can be discerned for approval of a budget. Based on his ruling, the Opposition cannot cut or reduce, but may withhold its approval, for specific items in the budget.  Upon the conclusion of the consideration of the estimates, during which the Opposition will no doubt withhold approval for substantial portions of it, the Minister of Finance can then submit amended estimates of a reduced sum to take account of the exclusion of those portions of the items, or sub-items, which the Opposition does not support. The Appropriation Bill will then reflect the amended estimates and will therefore obtain Opposition support. This is procedurally feasible and requires no negotiations.

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WHAT THE CHIEF JUSTICE RULED

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 1st February 2014, 7:00 pm

The section on Financial Procedures in the Standing Orders of the National Assembly is the same today as it was in 1969. In that year the Standing Orders were amended, no doubt to bring them in line with the provisions of the Independence Constitution of 1966. The Standing Orders had been approved by the same National Assembly which had approved in the Independence Constitution.

The Financial Procedures provide for each head of expenditure to be “considered”  and “decided” by the National Assembly. It specifically provides for amendments to increase or reduce any head of expenditure. In accordance with the Constitution, it states that an amendment to increase may only be moved by a Minister who must signify Cabinet approval. No such requirement exists in relation to an amendment to reduce. Cabinet approval is therefore not necessary to reduce.

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The Conversation Tree is both physical and philosophical. The physical is the tree itself, which has given its name to the road from which it originates at the intersection of the Rupert Craig Highway. It was reputedly first planted by Napleton William King in 1876 to celebrate the birth of his son Napleton Walter. As...
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