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Former Member

Govt. violates court order, AG admits

April 24, 2015 | By | Filed Under News 
 

The action brought by former Finance Minister Carl Greenidge against Dr. Ashni Singh, the current

Former Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge

Former Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge

 

Finance Minister, could not continue yesterday owing to the absence of the plaintiff (Greenidge) who is currently out of the jurisdiction. Roysdale Forde, Greenidge’s Attorney, told the Court that while the reply was prepared it could not be filed, since a personal signature of Greenidge was required. Greenidge’s lawyer was scheduled to respond to submissions presented by the Attorney General, (AG) Anil Nandlall. The action, which began on March 20, last, is to prevent the government from spending US$32.16M in loans it received from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The defendants in the case are Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh and Attorney General, (AG) Anil Nandlall. The writ specifically asks that the proceeds under the Loan Agreements signed between Dr. Singh and the IDB be paid into the Consolidated Fund and that there be no withdrawal of the  proceeds  of  the said Loan  Agreements,  except  by  an  Appropriation  Act  as directed by Article  217  of  the  Constitution. Greenidge noted concerns over government’s misuse of the loan. An order was subsequently handed down by Chief Justice, (Ag) Ian Chang in the High Court blocking the government from making any disbursements. The order is to remain in force until determination by the court. Last week, Nandlall released a statement detailing his response to the court action. The AG argued that it is routine practice that the proceeds of the loan having been paid into the Consolidated Fund is no longer

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall

 

IDB money; it forms “part of the pool of resources indistinguishable from other receipts, including tax and non-tax revenue.” Nandlall held that given the circumstance “Any one month funds are withdrawn and spent from the Consolidated Fund to meet the operations of Government, without any identification being made of the original source of those Funds.” But the former Finance Minister begs to differ. In a statement issued yesterday, Greenidge noted that having given the Court the assurance that the Government will not spend the funds, Nandlall in his last two court appearances, has been peddling a line that in his view borders on reckless contempt. Greenidge explained “that line is that the Court Order cannot be obeyed because it is already being violated. I believe this to be a most dangerous situation”. The former Finance Minister said that in commenting on the case, the respondents made two points, that they do not understand how the Consolidated Fund works or they will ignore it. Greenidge underlined the fact that the CJ has already ruled that the Government broke the law in spending monies that were not approved under the 2014 Budget and by incorrectly seeking approval under a Statement of Excess which was never considered or approved by the National Assembly. On this occasion, he noted the Courts have an undertaking by the AG and the Minister of Finance and yet Nandlall now boldly states that the Government is continuing to spend the money. “While we wait to see how condignly the Courts will deal with this outrage, we hope the IDB is taking note.” Greenidge said.

 

 

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 “While we wait to see how condignly the Courts will deal with this outrage, we hope the IDB is taking note.”

 

Now the corrupt PPP/C gets the IDB in some problems.

It is time that Ash Knee goes to jail

 

FM

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