AG says inadvertent mistake made by Finance Ministry

― gets clearance to purchase ‘proper brand new’ M vehicle for use

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams on Wednesday pleaded guilty to an ‘inadvertent mistake’ on the part of the Finance Ministry with regards to how figures are represented in the 2017 National Estimates.

Williams was at the time being grilled over allocations under his remit in the Legal Affairs Ministry and was pointed to provisions where there were no budget provisions, but the revised figures for the previous year shows that monies to the tune of millions of dollars, were in fact spent.
The Attorney General pointed to the fact that this obtained despite the fact that there were no Supplementary Provisions, nor was there a budget sum, but the Ministry still went ahead and spent monies.
It was at this point that the Minster conceded that the mix up was as a result of an ‘inadvertent mistake’ by the Finance Ministry.
He explained that the mistake was associated with the adjustment of different programme heads in the budget.
Williams was also forced to defend the allocation of $19.7 million for the purchase a single vehicle.
According to Minister Williams, while the Ministry is yet to determine the type and make of the vehicle to be purchased, it is in fact to be used by him.
Williams told the House, “The Attorney General will be having a proper vehicle this time.”
He had prefaced his supposition by pointing to the practice of his predecessors, saying that a brand new vehicle was supposed to have been purchase in 2015 but this did not obtain.
Williams told the House that the transaction undertaken by the former Permanent Secretary resulted in the purchase of a used vehicle.
Another of the heated exchanges during the consideration of the expenditure under the Legal Affairs Ministry and Attorney General’s remit, surrounded the more than $100 million set aside for the payment of legal services.
Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall questioned the need for the expenditure for the payment of legal services.
However according to Williams, the money has been identified to pay the Special Prosecutors hinted to by the administration – Special Prosecutors meant to go after persons suspected of siphoning off State assets.
According to Williams, the Administration is steadfast in its pursuit of State assets that had been stolen, “we are very serious about that.”
In a direct quip to his predecessor, Williams told the House, “I am deadly serious about the recovery of the law books for the Ministry of Legal Affairs.”
The special prosecution teams is to be established to handle the legal proceedings to be initiated with regards to criminal charges into the Sparendaam Housing Project, known as ‘Pradoville Two’ and the operations of the Guyana Cricket World Cup Inc.
Guyana Times understands that two lawyers have since been identified as special prosecutors after recommendations made by the Attorney General.
The Attorney General was also asked to provide answers in relation to allocations surrounding the imminent establishment of a Law Reform Commission, in addition to other justice modernisation initiatives among others before getting the blessings of the House for expenditure in 2017.