Opposition wants “spend all” philosophy without future strategy – AG

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has echoed that the bigger picture of this year’s $781.9 billion budget has been lost in translation for the parliamentary Opposition, who wants a splurge without catering for the future.
During his budget debate on Friday, the Attorney General stated that while Cabinet Ministers presented cogent and compelling cases for every sector under Budget 2023, it was lost on the other side of the House.

Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall holding a PPP/C manifesto during his budget debate

According to him, it is worrying the Opposition found nothing positive from the 2023 fiscal framework.
However, the Legal Affairs Minister shared that this budget was sustainably crafted and Government will not spend all of the country’s oil wealth without catering for the future as the Opposition is demanding.
“We have crafted this budget in a sustainable way. Great references have been made to the oil wealth and they would like for us to spend it all today but that is not our philosophy. Our philosophy is to spend to make today better but to make tomorrow greater. That is the philosophy that guides this budget,”
Our budget theme says it. It reflects our philosophy: ‘Improving Lives Today; Building Prosperity for Tomorrow. The other side would prefer the budget team to read: ‘Spend all today and to hell with tomorrow’. That is the philosophy,”
In Thursday’s debates, Opposition MP Richard Sinclair divided the population by the value of the budget, calling for every citizen to get $1 million. Nandlall responded to these utterances by saying, “Forget the developmental plan. Just share out the whole budget. That is the philosophy. Don’t build anything. Let us spend and let us spend!”

Robust agenda
Focusing on the judicial sector, Nandlall said 2023 will be a watershed year for the system, starting with progress on the regional law school. Under the former Administration, an agreement was signed and the sod was turned for such a project but the Council of Legal Education then stated that it never granted permission for such an institution.
“They gave it a name – the JOF Haynes Law School. Then lo and behold, a public statement was issued by the Council of Legal Education that they never gave permission…How do you lose a whole law school?” he questioned.
Last September, permission was granted by the CLE for work to begin on this establishment. The Commission to reform Guyana’s Constitution will be established this year, which follows the passage of Constitutional Reform Commission Act in 2022.

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton

Government is also focusing on a restorative justice centre and secretariat to bring the Restorative Justice Act into fruition.
There will be work to abolish preliminary inquiries in criminal proceedings in a bid to eliminate backlog, along with a review of the Plea-Bargaining Act.
“We will draft a Bill to abolish preliminary inquiries in criminal proceedings in Guyana. Every day or so often, we read the complaints about delay in the criminal justice system and the length of time that accused persons are languishing in prison. Part of that reason is because the law requires a preliminary inquiry to be done to establish a prima facie case before going to a Judge and jury,” he contended.
Across the Caribbean and Commonwealth, this tier has been abolished where the statements are reviewed and the Magistrate decides whether to commit or not. Guyana will be moving in this direction, eliminating ‘tremendous’ backlog.
On the legislative agenda for 2023 is the Summary Jurisdiction Offences Amendment Bill, Companies Amendment Bill, Landlord and Tenant Amendment Bill, Evidence Amendment Bill, Summary Jurisdiction and Procedure Amendment Bill, Court of Appeal Amendment Bill, Extramural Work Amendment Bill, Limitation Amendment Bill, Criminal Law Procedure Amendment Bill, Planning and Development Single Window System Bill, Radiation Safety and Security Bill, Combating Trafficking in Persons Bill, Border Patrol Bill, Firearms Control Bill, Electronic Communication and Transaction Bill, Anti-dumping Bill, Engineers Bill, Securities Bill, Recording of Court Proceedings Bill, Foreign Judgement Reciprocal Enforcement Bill, Gambling Prevention Amendment Bill, Data Protection Bill, Gaming Bill, Real Estate Bill, among others. (G12)