Georgetown: The National Assembly Thursday passed the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill by ‘simple majority’ paving the way for several main commissions and offices to have administrative control over monies allocated to them for their functioning.
The passage of the bill amends the Third Schedule relating to article 222 A of the Constitution, by assuring independence to those entities listed therein. These include the Ethnic Relations Commission, the Human Rights Commission, the Women and Gender Equality Commission, the Indigenous People’s Commission, the Rights of the Child Commission, the Judiciary and the Office of the Auditor General.
The bill also brings under 222 A (Third Schedule) of the Constitution, several other commissions and agencies that were being funded through the Ministry of Finance. It provides for them to now be financially autonomous, and to draw their funds directly from the Consolidated Fund. These include the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecution, the Judicial Service Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Police Service Commission, the Teaching Service Commission, the Public Service Appellate Tribunal, the Public Procurement Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Guyana Elections Commission.
Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Basil Williams taking the floor during the second reading of the bill dismissed claims that it needed a two-third majority for passage. He explained that passage of the bill requires a simple majority, “when one has recourse to Article 1641 2A and 2B and the provision therein.”
Minister Williams explained that Article 1641 provides for a simple majority, Article 1641 2A for a referendum and Article 1641 2b for a two-third majority. He said that the articles for the referendum are listed there-in and the articles for the two-third majority are listed in 2B. “It means simply that if article 222A is not listed under the referendum provision or under the two-third majority provision, it could only by virtue of not being listed therein that is required to be under 1641, which provides for the simple majority,” he said.
He pointed out that in the 9th Parliament Article 61 was amended by the then government, under the same basis. “When we believe that Article 61 provided that we could not exceed six months in determining the first sitting of Parliament after the elections, the government pushed through that bill on the same basis as this one, that is, if you have the course to Article 164 2A that is the referendum position, you would not find Article 164, and if you have the course to Article 164 2ab, the two-thirds majority provision, you will not find Article 61 therein,” he explained.
Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence, who took to the floor in support of the bill, noted that it was critical for the country’s democracy. She pointed out that democratic constitutions are based on the philosophy of the decentralisation of powers and that the bill seeks to enforce this guiding principle.
Minister Lawrence noted that by giving the commissions and offices financial autonomy, it reduces their dependence on other institutions, such as their executive arm of the Government thereby lessening encroachment and interference.
“The efficiency of these institutions is limited when they are forced to depend on the executive for funding,” the Minister said. She adding that this is inexcusable and clearly mocks the independence that the architecture of the constitution intended.
She asked the House to consider the consequences and implications for these commissions if the government was to refuse or delay the provision of much needed funds or resources for their effective functioning. “We have seen the countless hiccups and lack of transparency, which have occurred in the past as a result of this,” she answered.
Lawrence also noted that at present some of these commissions and offices are not functioning, some are even non-existent as in the case of the public procurement commission. “It is this administration’s intention to ensure however not only they are operational, but that they receive the resources for optimal operation,” she said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge also supported the bill. He noted that the bill seeks to “rescue” the institutions concerned with the protection of their fundamental rights from the “clutches of our executive.”
Reminding the House of the bill’s background, Minister Greenidge who in fact first introduced the initial version of bill in the House in 2012, said that he was especially proud that the APNU+AFC coalition, notwithstanding the fact that it is now in government has no difficulty putting in place such a bill which in effect would curb the excessive of the executive
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