PAC probes $99.6M in legal fees spent by APNU/AFC in 2019

Over $90 million was spent on legal fees by the Attorney General chambers for the cases that came after the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in 2019, but according to Solicitor General (SG) Nigel Hawke, the practice of outsourcing legal cases by the AG chambers is a normal one.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday heard from officers of the Attorney General chambers as they examined the Attorney General’s report. Specifically, they were quizzed by PAC member and Public Works Minister Juan Edghill about the lawyers who were contracted by the chamber during 2019.
At the time, a number of high-profile lawyers both local and regional, were brought in as the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government fought their NCM loss in the courts.

Hawke admitted that all of these lawyers were sole sourced. However, it was explained that permission was given by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to do so. He also noted that outsourcing is a normal practice and a necessary one, considering the workload, but one that must be addressed holistically.
“It’s a normal practice in Guyana, it’s a normal practice in first world countries, it’s a normal practice throughout the Caribbean and Commonwealth. A State, if it desires to retain the best counsel and fight its cases, it will do so as a matter of policy.”
“When the report is put in a way, notwithstanding having one Solicitor General, one deputy, one assistant, it gives the impression as though the Solicitor General and Deputy Solicitor General and other officers, does nothing,” Hawke said.
According to the Solicitor General, the chamber receives 10 cases per day on average, 50 cases per week and 240 cases per month. He further explained that these cases range from the least to the most technical.
“It is impossible to manage the chambers of the Attorney General with only six at a time. When you look at the level of litigation that the State faces now, it is unfair. What is not reflected there is the volume of work.”
PAC Chairman Jermaine Figueira also read out a breakdown of the legal fees paid to these lawyers, totalling up to $99.6 million. Senior Counsels Rex McKay and Neil Boston were jointly paid $25 million. The law firm of Fraser, Housty and Yearwood received $10.5 million.
Barbadian Queen’s Counsel Hal Gallop received $6.6 million, Maxwell Edwards received $4.8 million, Patrice Henry received $5.8 million, the Robertson law firm received $5.6 million, Queen’s Counsel Francis Alexis received $5.3 million and the law firm of Hughes, Fields and Stoby received $690,000.
Despite the battery of lawyers brought in by the former Attorney General chambers, which was run by then Attorney General Basil Williams, the courts ultimately upheld the No-Confidence Motion and the need for the then Government to call elections.
After the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, however, APNU/AFC would embark on even more court cases before finally demitting office under the weight of international pressure and the threat of sanctions.
In August 2020, soon after the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) took office, Attorney General Anil Nandlall had said that the State even picked up the tab for plane tickets and accommodation. He had said that a special audit would be needed into the matter.
“You must appreciate that these things must be the subject of a special audit to determine whether these payments were properly made. This is a work in progress. I do not think that I have been given all the invoices that have been paid, but when the Auditor General is invited to conduct a forensic audit. This is just the tip of the iceberg in private retainer contracts. There are many more. A whole bundle that I will release soon,” Nandlall had said. (G3)