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Former Member

PPP says Budget unconstitutional;  House to amend

August 24, 2015 12:37 pm Category: latest news A+ / A-

 

 

By Jomo Paul

PPP Parliamentarians

PPP Parliamentarians

 

[www.inewsguyana.com]

 

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has revealed that the 2015 Budget Estimates presented to the National Assembly by Finance Minister Winston Jordan are unconstitutional and against two of the first set of legislation passed by the new Government.

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall said the Budget is “inconsistent with and in violation of the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2015 (Act No. 2 of 2015) and the Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Act 2015 (Act No. 4 of 2015) both passed by the 11th Parliament and that portions of those Estimates or the Estimates in their entirety, maybe unlawful, null, void and of no effect.”

According to Nandlall, the Budget provides funds for the Guyana Elections Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman and several other constitutional bodies under Ministries and government agencies when this should not be the case in accordance with the two pieces of legislation.

Effectively the law now provides that these Bodies be independent and therefore should appear under a different line item in the Budget.

“We examined the estimates to see whether they confirm to these two pieces of legislation…we found that the estimates in their current form are violative of the two legislation…It was accepted by the government as they were constructed are in violation of these two legislation,” said Nandlall.

It was related that the two sides arrived at a consensus to pass a motion to amend the budget to reflect funding for constitutional agencies in a manner that is reflective of the correct process.

Consideration of the 2015 Estimates were supposed to commence at 9:00 AM on Monday however, that has been delayed as the two sides sought consensus on the issue.

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According to Nandlall, the Budget provides funds for the Guyana Elections Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman and several other constitutional bodies under Ministries and government agencies when this should not be the case in accordance with the two pieces of legislation.
 

Effectively the law now provides that these Bodies be independent and therefore should appear under a different line item in the Budget.


“We examined the estimates to see whether they confirm to these two pieces of legislation… we found that the estimates in their current form are violative of the two legislation… It was accepted by the government as they were constructed are in violation of these two legislation,” said Nandlall.

 

PPP says Budget unconstitutional;  House to amend, August 24, 2015 12:37 pm Category: latest news A+ / A-, By Jomo Paul

And the incompetence continues with the PNC cum AFC.

FM

 Scrutiny of national estimates delayed… opposition says Govt’ Budget flouts law

Scrutiny of national estimates delayed… opposition says Govt’ Budget flouts law

Consideration and scrutiny of the financial estimates of the government is belayed and the opposition says it's because "the current structure of the Budget estimates violates" two recently passed pieces of legislation- the Constitutional (Amendment) Act and the Fiscal and Accountability (Amendment) Act.
Those laws passed by the government just over a month ago, were set to give more autonomy to those constitutionally mandated agencies. However, according to former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, the current budget has failed to reflect the new power given to those agencies.
During a special press briefing at Parliament's Committee room Monday August 24, he said that matter was intended to be raised on the House floor, and as the regulations of Parliament would have it in Standing Order 12; a letter on this issue was sent to the Speaker of the House. Nandlall said that the Speaker then invited a meeting with both sides of House and it was "accepted" by the government that the estimates are in violation of the two pieces of law and "undertook to correct" the matter.
He said too, that a decision was made for a motion to be presented reflecting the correct estimates to confirm with the new legal prescription.
The opposition said that when the discussions do take off it is expected that only agencies might be discussed and the constitutional bodies will be done when the corrections are made. "Those bodies will be deferred," opposition Chief Whip Gail Texieira told the media.
She said estimates for the 10 regions will be discussed first, but already she sees problems with this, given the cut- short days to scrutinize the estimates. The opposition and the government bumped heads earlier last week when a motion was passed by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo to have the scrutiny of the estimates done in three days.
The opposition said when they were in office discussion of the estimates lasted five to seven days. They said the government is trying to "muzzle" them. With this new issue, they are saying now that the extension beyond the three days is even more necessary.
According to the opposition, they have seen a draft motion that is supposed to be presented on the House floor and is awaiting that. That, they say is causing the current delay in the start of the House's business which at the time of this article was over three hours behind.

 

FM

Dhar Poke Nandalall

want to see provision

for Govt to pay for

 Sperm & Gold Teeth 

as was the case

in the last PPP Budget.

Scrutiny of national estimates delayed… opposition says Govt’ Budget flouts law

Ole Poke

Gail ...Agree

$1,000,000

Monthly Telephone Bill Cut Out

FM
Last edited by Former Member

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