Sod turned for $388M Magistrate’s Court at Friendship, EBD

Days after the sod was turned for the construction of the Timehri Magistrates’ Court, a similar exercise was held on Monday, this time at Friendship, also on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).
The sod was officially turned by Attorney General, Anil Nandlall; Chancellor of Judiciary (ag) Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman.
The $388,873,985 contract for the construction of the courthouse was awarded to Romano Builders Inc by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) after a public tender.

The building will house a courtroom, Magistrates’ chambers, living quarters for a Magistrate and a clerk of court, washroom facilities, parking facilities and a perimeter fence. The project is expected to be completed by October 2024. Present at the sod-turning were staff of the Supreme Court and the contractor, Joey Monjal among others.
In her brief remarks, Magistrate Latchman thanked the Attorney General for the “groundbreaking initiative” and extended gratitude to the Government of Guyana, noting that the court will serve citizens on the EBD and assist with the expansion of Guyana’s jurisprudence.
On Friday last, the sod was turned for the construction of the $303,905,015 Magistrates’ Court at Timehri, EBD. The contract for the construction of the courthouse was awarded to Orion Engineering Incorporated.

Upon completion, the building will house a courtroom, Magistrate’s chambers, living quarters for a Magistrate and a clerk of court, washroom facilities, parking facilities, and a perimeter fence.
This court will deal with cases arising out of the lower East Bank area, all the way up to Silverhill along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. The project is expected to be completed by September 2024.
Only on Wednesday, a new state-of-the-art courthouse was commissioned to the tune of $294.7 million at Vigilance on the East Coast Demerara. This facility features accommodation for two Magistrates’ Courts, living quarters for two Magistrates, an office for the East Demerara Magisterial District, a prisoners’ holding cell, a domestic violence room and a conference room for lawyers, among other facilities
Currently, similar courthouses are being constructed at Port Kaituma and Mabaruma in Region One (Barima-Waini), Anna Regina on the Essequibo Coast, Parfaite Harmonie on the West Bank of Demerara and Cove and John, ECD.
Since August 2020, when the current PPP Administration assumed office, several new court facilities have already been commissioned at Bartica, Kwakwani and Mibicuri.
The Judiciary has been taking steps to ensure that justice is delivered on time regardless of where citizens live, by constructing new Magistrates’ Courts, expanding several courthouses, and opening new Magisterial Districts.
Following last month’s swearing-in of the new Judicial Service Commission (JSC), it is expected that more Judges and Magistrates will be appointed soon to complement the massive upgrades to the Judiciary’s physical infrastructure.
The Judiciary has also commissioned Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Courts and Children’s Courts as well as specialised courts for hearing sexual offences such as rape.
Additionally, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is being deployed to improve the efficiency of the court system. In this regard, SMART courts are among the new projects intended in 2023 to accelerate the provision of justice.
An e-Litigation Programme for the Court of Appeal and the Georgetown High Court, as well as a Case Management System for the Magistrates’ Courts are intended to go live in 2023.