Georgetown : In the considering the Estimates of Expenditure for 2014 brought to the National Assembly by Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Finance, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) used their majority to disapprove of around thirty seven billion dollars ($37 B) earmarked for certain programmes which were not in the best interest of the Guyanese people.
In disapproving such expenditure the National Assembly relied not only on the provisions of article 218 (2) of the Constitution but the ruling of the learned Chief Justice, Mr. Ian Chang in Action No. 216_W of 2012 Demerara. Justice Chang had ruled that the National Assembly had no power to cut or reduce the Government’s Budget, only power to approve or disapprove it.
The Minister of Finance brought back to the National Assembly new Estimates of Expenditure minus the disapproved $37 Billion dollars which were passed by the National Assembly as the Appropriation Act No. 10 of 2014. Despite the said disapprovals, the Minister of Finance still spent around $4.5 billion dollars on the said programmes by the 16th June 2014.
APNU contends that the Minister of Finance’s act amounted to a breach of the doctrine of the separation of powers as it abridged the decisions of the Parliament and its independence.
APNU is seeking a conservatory order from the court to stay all spending or any further spending on the programmes disapproved by the Parliament and other unauthorized spending by the Government.
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