Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, SC, has called out the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Opposition over their conflicting position on the issue of consultation.
Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton
This comes on the heels of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government currently facing a series of legal actions on several constitutional appointments, mounted by the Opposition, who are citing the lack of consultation.
According to Nandlall, Khemraj Ramjattan, Leader of the AFC – the minority party in the Coalition Opposition – is now chiding the Government for seeking to consult with the APNU+AFC in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional Reform. The Attorney General noted in a post on Facebook on Wednesday that Ramjattan is accusing the Government of nit-picking and making excuses about a process as a way of avoiding constitutional reform.
Attorney General & Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, SC
“They don’t want constitutional reform, so they will place the blame at our doorsteps. There was a quorum…if you want constitutional reform, proceed with the quorum that you have…” Ramjattan is quoted as saying in a Kaieteur News article.
Paradoxically, however, Nandlall pointed out that, at the very meeting of the Constitutional Reform Committee, the other Opposition Committee Members, AFC’s Raphael Trotman and APNU’s Geeta Chandan-Edmond, are on record pleading for more time to proffer recommendations from the APNU/AFC.
“At the same time, Mr Aubrey Norton, MP, the Leader of the Opposition, is suing the Government for failing to CONSULT on certain constitutional appointments, although the President has consulted when possible, and Norton has failed to turn up to the consultation meetings to which he was invited… Anyway, Ramjattan’s enlightened advice is being noted for future reference,” AG Nandlall asserted.
Moreover, the Legal Affairs Minister outlined that the APNU/AFC Opposition want to create an atmosphere that is not conducive to constitutional and democratic governance and government, and are using a series of legal challenges to do so.
Creating atmosphere of animosity
During his weekly programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday evening, Nandlall spoke about the Coalition going to the court to challenge the appointment of constitutional bodies, Clifton Hicken as Police Commissioner, their attempts to block the promotion of Police ranks, and the fact that they are asking the court to block further consultations between the President and Opposition Leader as those relate to critical appointments.
“The sum total of this, if they are able to successfully execute their objective, is to grind constitutionality and constitutional governance to a halt. Their actions are clearly designed to undermine the Constitution, undermine the democratic process of the state.
“We have many more consultations to do with the Leader of the Opposition, but after creating this atmosphere of animosity, after creating this environment of antagonism, of contention, of controversy, how are those consultations going to take place?” the Attorney General argued.
He further reminded that it was Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton who refused to show up for a second round of consultations with President Dr Irfaan Ali, and when the Head of State went ahead to appoint several constitutional bodies, the Opposition is now challenging those appointments.
“I believe that these actions are deliberately filed to precipitate this animosity and this antagonistic environment, so that the constitutional processes are going to be sabotaged, so that the constitutional rule is going to be undermined, so that the Constitution itself is going to be subverted. I believe that that is the intention behind these series of court actions and the public posture that follows,” the Minister stated.
Nandlall outlined that, unlike the PPP/C while in Opposition, when it took to the courts to fight for people’s rights, the APNU/AFC Opposition have sought to create and fabricate the opportunities to file cases in the courts.
“They refuse to attend the consultation, and when you proceed to make the appointments in their absence, they sue you… That has been their modus operandi, and we need to go through these things slowly, so that people understand the type of Opposition we have in this country and the challenges we face as a Government,” he said.
“They want to create an atmosphere that is not conducive to constitutional and democratic governance and government, so that they can create havoc on the streets,” AG Nandlall contended.
