By Suraj Narine
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional Reform met yesterday to discuss the body’s work programme for 2022. The Committee, which is chaired by the Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall S.C., is tasked with reviewing the effectiveness of the workings of the Constitution and make periodic reports to the National Assembly.
The Committee only met twice prior to yesterday’s meeting and the AG expressed the body’s “collective regret” noting that the inability to meet regularly stemmed mainly from COVID-19 infecting the Speaker, Manzoor Nadir and parliament staff, among other factors. During his “Issues in the News” programme aired last evening, Nandlall assured that there will be expediency going forward.
Despite the adversarial nature of Guyanese politics and the consensus needed to effect constitutional reformation, the AG says he foresees no resistance. In fact, he noted that all the political parties that occupy the Assembly have expressed their intention to achieve constitutional reform.
He said, “ I don’t anticipate any great resistance in terms of the agenda going forward. This is one committee that will require consensus, if anything substantial is to be achieved, and that is because of the very nature of Constitutional reform. Any provision of substance that requires reform or that is identified for reform, can only be amended by a two-thirds majority, minimum – that means, that we must have bilateral cooperation in the Parliament.”
Nandlall spoke also about the committee “amassing” all the work done by earlier committees, referencing a Constitutional Reform Bill that was sent to a previous Committee, and the ensuing advances made.
“[A]ll those materials are now being collected. We are also looking at the modus operandi used, and the modalities used by the Constitutional Reform Commission of 1999 and 2001. That Commission was formed by way of a Constitutional Reform Act of 1999, [and] that act has been received along with the bill and there are some recommendations that came out of that 1991 to 2001 process that were never implemented. We are accumulating those amendments and grouping them together, so when we begin to discuss our work programme and how it will manifest itself, we will have all these materials available,” the AG noted.
Nandlall assured that all Guyanese will have a part to play in the consultations, and again, he expressed optimism that there will be no hubbubs.
