Contractors who accept contract awards from the government after March 19 could face legal action to recover funds disbursed under those contracts. This is according to Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, who held a press conference at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition on Thursday.
Jagdeo contended that the government will, after that date, have no jurisdiction to award contracts, because it would be operating illegally.
He said that if the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) wins the next General and Regional Elections, the group that assumes government will seek to institute civil procedures against such contractors.
“The Accountant General may face personal liabilities for the disbursement of any money in that period. Contractors and others who persist in dealing with an illegal government could face civil recovery procedures for money that they receive on contracts.”
PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo
The leader of the Opposition also doubts that elected officials will be constitutionally in their right to use vehicles and other state assets if the March 19 deadline passes. He said that the PPP would also seek to recover the costs for the usage of those assets. He said that it would even be a violation of the Constitution for an illegitimate government to give orders to the disciplinary forces.
The PPP, he noted, even before an election, will ask the international community to implement sanctions against individuals who disregard the constitution in this regard, as he said he has seen the community do this before.
Jagdeo said that he is making these statements in the same regard as David Granger, who spoke in 2014 about how Guyana would become a pariah state if the then PPP government sought to disregard the No-Confidence Motion brought against them by the then combined A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Alliance for Change (AFC) opposition.
“Our own president, in 2014, defined how Guyana should be treated in those circumstances. They are pushing us into a situation [in which] this country could be harmed.”
He reiterated his stance that the PPP will not grant an extension past the March 19 deadline, because that would make the party complicit in the government’s disregard for the Constitution. Further, the PPP does not intend to go back to the National Assembly unless the matters relate to the granting of funds to GECOM if such is necessary for General and Regional Elections, or any other matters that would affect progression to same.
