National Assembly approves correction of CRC’s numerical composition

In the late hours of Friday, the National Assembly unanimously approved corrections to the Constitution Reform Commission Act in regard to the complement of members to be appointed.

The highly-anticipated Constitution Reform Commission Bill 2022 was first tabled in the House back in August 2022, and was subsequently passed in November of that year. The Act sought to establish a 20-member Commission to review the country’s supreme laws.
These 20 members have to be drawn from political parties (five from the ruling party, four from the main Opposition and one from the joinder parties), while the 10 remaining persons would be drawn from the three main religious groups, the Private Sector, the Guyana Bar Association, the National Toshaos Council, the labour movement, women’s organisations, as well as nominees representing farmers and youths.

Additionally, the Act contained provisions for the President to “…act in accordance with his/her own deliberate judgement and appoint a chairperson…” With this provision, the compliment of appointed members of the Constitution Reform Commission (CRC) has been taken to 21, hence the need to amend the law.
The Constitution Reform Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024 was presented to the National Assembly on Thursday by Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira.
She explained, “In order to rectify what appears to be a contradiction, the amendment is being brought in the House to allow for the Constitution Reform Commission to be properly constituted, and to proceed with what is very important work for our country and our parliament.”
Debates on the Bill were brief, commencing on Friday evening with Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, pointing out that with 21 members of the Commission already sworn in, “an erratum” was unfortunately discovered belatedly.

“The Act speaks to a Commission comprising of 20 members, and that was the intention. However, the Chairman not coming from the Commission, but is appointed by the President in the exercise of his “deliberate judgement”, and who is a part of the Commission, renders the Commission a 21-member Commission. This bill simply seeks to correct that numerical composition.
“The amendment is as simple as that. Some amendments were being proposed by the Opposition, but they have been graciously withdrawn, and I want to thank the Opposition for the good sense in that decision… I don’t think the other side is in opposition (to) this amendment, they having nominated their members already, and I know [they are] very anxious to start the work of the Commission,” AG Nandlall posited.
The Explanatory Memorandum details that Clause 2 of the Bill seeks to amend Section 3 of the Principal Act to increase the membership of the Commission from twenty members to twenty-one members. Section 4 (1) of the Act was consequently amended to provide for the President to nominate a member of the Commission – that is, the Chairperson whom he appointed.
With the support of the Parliamentary Opposition, the amendments were passed, but not before A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Member of Parliament Khemraj Ramjattan, during brief remarks, took a jab at the Government’s side for seeking to correct a “miscalculation.”
“They miscounted, and they come here to correct it,” he teased. Ramjattan, Leader of the AFC, was rebutting reminders, mainly by the Government’s side in the House, of the APNU/AFC Coalition’s outrageous claim in the previous parliament, when the David Granger-led Administration was toppled by a No-Confidence Motion tabled by the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic Opposition.
After the NCM motion was passed 33-32 due to a cross-over vote in support of the PPP/C Opposition, Coalition activists had infamously mounted arguments that a 34-vote is the majority of the 65-seat Parliament, and not 33 – something which was rejected by the High Court and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Last month, President Dr Irfaan Ali swore in the 20 nominated members of the CRC, along with his pick for Chairman, the former acting Chancellor Justice (retired) Carl Singh. The other CRC members are Attorney General Anil Nandlall, S.C., along with Ministers Gail Teixeira, Dr Frank Anthony, Pauline Sukhai and Kwame McCoy – representatives of the ruling PPP/C Government.
The APNU/AFC Opposition is represented by Vincent Alexander, Sherwood Lowe, Ganesh Mahipal and Nigel Hughes. The other political appointee is Timothy Jonas, who is the representative of the joinder parties and holds a seat in the parliamentary Opposition.
Labour Movement Representative Aslim Singh, National Toshaos Council Representative Derrick John, Private Sector Representative Ramesh Persaud, Women’s Representative Kim Kyte-Thomas, Youth Representative Dr Josh Kanhai, Muslim Representative Imran Ally, Hindu Representative Radha Krishna Sharma, and Farmers’ Representative Adrian Anamayah are the other members sworn-in by the President.
The other CRC members are the Guyana Bar Association Representative Kamal Ramkarran, and Christian Representative Keoma Griffith.
The 2022 law outlines the key areas which should be considered for potential reforms by the Commission. These include the fundamental rights of citizens, indigenous peoples’ rights, rights of children, the eradication of discrimination, enhancement of race relations, promotion of ethnic security and equal opportunity, safeguarding minority rights, electoral reforms; economic, political and cultural rights; fiduciary responsibility, bolstering integrity in public office, as well as the functioning of the National Assembly and local government.
During the April 3 swearing-in ceremony, President Ali told the Commission members that while these areas are wide-ranging, they are not exhaustive of their scope of work. He further noted that the constitution must be drafted in a clear and accessible language that is comprehensible to the average individual. This, according to the Head of State, would ensure that all citizens understand their rights and obligations, thereby facilitating active participation in the democratic process, and reinforcing the mutual understanding between the Government and the governed.
The PPP/C Government has already assured that the public would play an integral role in deciding what reforms would be undertaken. (G-8)