Judiciary opens bids for construction of 2 more magistrate’s courts

The Judiciary of Guyana has announced the opening of bids for the construction of two magistrate’s courts – one at Cove and John, East Coast Demerara (ECD), and another at Mahaicony, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

An advertisement published on the Supreme Court of Judicature’s Facebook page said that interested bidders can peruse the bid documents at the court’s Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown office before purchasing the complete set of the bidding documents for $8000.
All bidders should submit their bids together with the bid security of two per cent of the bid price not later than June 9, 2022, to the Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Ministry of Finance, Main and Urquhart Street, Georgetown.
Bids submitted after this date will be rejected and returned to the bidders unopened. Bids will be opened on the aforementioned date by NPTAB in the presence of bidders’ representatives.
The Judiciary has been taking steps to ensure that justice is delivered on time regardless of where citizens live by constructing and renovating magistrates’ courts. In 2016, the Judiciary demolished the ageing building which had housed the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court which was situated in the compound of the Sparendaam Police Station. The court was re-commissioned in February of the following year and its quota of magistrates was increased from one to two.
Then in 2017, the Judiciary opened the Upper Demerara Magisterial District – the country’s tenth Magisterial District. Three years later, it commissioned the Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrates’ Courts on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD). Before this $132 million court was opened, the Providence Magistrates’ Courts served the entire EBD corridor from Agricola to Timehri.
The Judiciary has also commissioned a Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Court, a Children’s Court, and Sexual Offences Courts in each of the three counties. Last month, it commissioned a $37 million Magistrate’s Court at Kwakwani, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). And last week, 12 Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts were launched throughout the magisterial districts.
The Judiciary has been praised for decentralising the magistracy given the country’s geographical layout, which makes travelling and communication very challenging at times. Recognising that the stability and strength of the justice sector are paramount to public trust and investor confidence, $4.5 billion was set aside by the Government in the 2022 budget to fund various works for advancing the justice sector.
Of this sum, $1.3 billion will fund the completion of the Port Kaituma, Mabaruma, and Vigilance Magistrates’ Courts. It will also fund the construction of magistrates’ courts and living quarters for judicial officers at Friendship and Timehri on the EBD.