Intelligence, Security Bill provides absent legal framework for operations of NISA – AG

…calls criticisms on agency functioning since 2010 ignorant, paranoid

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has posited that controversies surrounding the recently laid National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) Bill are rooted in ignorance and some level of paranoia, since the proposed legislation is merely providing a cloak of legality and removes the veil of secrecy surrounding an agency that has been in operation for more than a decade.
On Monday, the National Intelligence and Security Agency Bill was presented to the National Assembly by AG Nandlall, and immediately after, widespread criticisms came to the fore regarding the proposed legislation.
But during his programme Issues in the News, the Attorney General pointed out that the bill – which is now dubbed the ‘Spy Bill’ – merely provides the legal framework for the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), which has been in operation since 2010.
At the time of its establishment, under the Bharrat Jagdeo Administration, the agency was named the Central Intelligence Unit (CIU), and there were calls then for there to be legislation to govern this body. However, in 2015, under the David Granger presidency, this unit was integrated into the National Intelligence Security Agency (NISA) established by the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government. However, laws were not created to govern the functioning of this body – something which the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration is now changing.
“For 13 years, this agency has been functioning, performing largely the same functions which are outlined in the Bill; but it had no governance structure, it had no statutory framework, and apparently people didn’t know about it. Now this Bill seeks to remove that clock of apparent secrecy and bring a transparent legal structure into being, and to establish an accountable framework in respect of the agency itself and those who will man and comprise the agency,” the Attorney General has said.
According to Nandlall, over the years, and under different administrations, NISA has been headed by various persons, with members such as former Police Commissioner Leslie James and Assistant Police Commissioner Royston Andres Junor.
“It continued during the APNU/AFC Government. Bruce Lovell, a senior officer from the Guyana Defence Force, was heading [NISA] at that time during the APNU/AFC years in Government… It has been funded from public fund since then. So, 13 years or more this agency has been getting monies from the Parliament; and in the Committee of Supply, the allocations of these funds have been explained,” the minister stated.
Currently, NISA is being headed by Colonel Omar Khan of the GDF. He took over at the helm of the agency from Lovell, who resigned shortly after the change of Government in 2020.
However, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday hinted that the agency would soon get a new head, since Colonel Khan will be heading the Guyana Defence Force from Friday as the current Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier (retired) Godfrey Bess, proceeds on pre-retirement leave.
“You don’t have to worry about [Mr Khan heading two agencies at the same time]. When Mr Khan assumes his new responsibility [as Chief-of-Staff of the GDF], of course, we will have other persons taking up that responsibility [at NISA],” the Head of State told reporters.
NISA is currently operating out of Castellani House in Georgetown.
Since the tabling of the Bill in the National Assembly, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has heavily criticised the proposed legislation.
“From our standpoint, it is retrogressive, it is dictatorial, and it’s not going to promote security. It is going to result in political harassment; harassment to citizens and violation of their rights,” Norton has stated.
But Nandlall in fact contended that the only criticism on this topic should have been the length of time it took to bring the legislative framework in place to govern the operations of the agency.
Moreover, he explained during his programme that the agency has been involved in, and will continue to mainly be involved in, intelligence gathering, working along with the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.
“It is an agency that will work along with the two principal disciplinary forces in our country – the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force – and will aid them in intelligence gathering. It is not a law enforcement agency; it will not perform law enforcement functions,” he posited.
The Attorney General went on to stress that as a country’s economy expands, so must its intelligence-gathering capabilities.
“More and more, as the economy grows, national security and the capability of the State to protect citizens and to protect assets within the State must proportionately expand and improve. Intelligence gathering has to become institutionalised, and we need agencies like this to execute those tasks,” Nandlall has said.
The Bill spells out the agency’s functions, which include to “collect information of national intelligence and security interest that provides a basis for decision making and preventative actions; gather, store, process, analyse and disseminate information that is relevant to national intelligence and security; conduct analysis of information of national interest and security interest.”
Additionally, the proposed legislation provides for the President to appoint the head of NISA. It also caters for the establishment of an Intelligence and Security Committee which will have oversight over the conduct of NISA. This committee will have three members appointed by the President. These include a nominee from the President, a nominee from the Opposition Leader after consulting with other opposition parties in the National Assembly, and a nominee from civil society. (G8)