AG admits intervening to dismiss charges against Ministers

‒ Nandlall says confession grounds for resignation

A stunning admission made by Attorney General Basil Williams that his office played a role in saving several Ministers from private criminal charges has initiated calls from his predecessor, Anil Nandlall, for his resignation.
In an article published by Sunday’s edition of the Guyana Chronicle, it was stated that Williams bragged to the newspaper during an interview that ‘representation through his office prevented the private charges from continuing against them (Ministers)’. At the time, Williams was laying out his achievements to make a case for re-election as People’s National Congress (PNC) Chairman.
The parliamentary Opposition had filed criminal charges against Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence; Social Cohesion Minister, Dr George Norton; Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, Public Sector Minister, Dr Rupert

Roopnaraine and Finance Minister Winston Jordan, for various alleged infractions.
Interestingly, those charges never made it to court, as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) threw them out after review. Nandlall drew attention to the fact that the DPP is a constitutional office protected from interference by the laws of Guyana. Considering the role of the Attorney General as the legal representative of the State, this, the former AG noted, constitutes grounds for resignation.
“The above constitutes an unassailable admission by the Attorney General of political interference with an independent constitutional agency,” Nandlall wrote in a social media post.
“It also corroborates my long-held view that the criminal charges instituted against former Ministers and officials of the [People’s Progressive Party/Civic] PPP/C Administration are politically directed. In most democratic countries, this admission would be the basis of a resignation!” he noted, adding that this amounted to disrespect for the Constitution and the arms of the State.
The DPP’s office itself is supposed to be protected from State directives by the Constitution of Guyana. Article 187 (4) of the Constitution states “In the exercise of the powers conferred upon him or her by this article, the Director shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.”

The charges
Following the charges brought by the PPP against Norton and Lawrence, the court

heard that Minister Lawrence, while being and performing the duties of Public Health Minister of the Government of Guyana, between January 16, 2017 and February 16, 2017, wilfully misconducted herself in a way which amounted to an abuse of public trust without reasonable excuse or justification.
Moreover, Lawrence was accused of authorising the unapproved single- sourcing and purchase of drugs and medical supplies for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) from ANSA McAL Trading Limited, for the excessive sum of $605,962,200.
Norton, on the other hand, was also accused of wilfully misconducting himself in a way which amounted to an abuse of public trust without reasonable excuse or justification, when he authorised or caused the rental of the property known as and situated at 29 Sussex Street, Albouystown, in the city of Georgetown from Linden Holdings Incorporated, a Limited Liability Company, for the sum of $12,500,000, exclusive of VAT, per month, by way of a written Agreement of Tenancy at an excessive rate of rental.”
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan had granted two summonses for the respective

Ministers, ordering them to appear before the court on April 24. They never did, as the day before their day in court, it was announced that the DPP, Shalimar Ali Hack, nixed the charges.
The PPP then filed more charges, this time against Minister Jordan, Minister Patterson and Minister Roopnaraine for alleged breaches of the Procurement Act in relation to the expenditure of $906 million in public funds to a private company, Homestretch Development Inc for the construction of the D’Urban Park Project.
Jordan and Patterson were jointly charged with misconduct and abuse of public trust for having allegedly authorised the payment, while Dr Roopnaraine, who was a director of the company, was charged with alleged misconduct and abuse of public trust for having received in his capacity as director the $906 million in public funds while serving as Minister.
Summonses were also issued for these three Ministers by Chief Magistrate McLennan, with the matters adjourned to April 30, 2018. But the Ministers never saw the inside of the courtroom, as the DPP again discontinued the charges on April 26.
She had affirmed that the matters must first be investigated by the Police. Since then, there has been no word on a Police investigation and Jordan has personally filed a libel lawsuit against PPP/C parliamentarian Juan Edghill for his role in the second charge.