Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall is accusing the main Parliamentary Opposition of dragging its feet even as critical steps are needed to establish a commission to effect constitutional reform.
He said that during the 2020 elections campaign, every political party promised constitutional reform, and now that moves are being made by the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) to break ground, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) has adopted a half-hearted approach.
The AG said that Opposition members of the Standing Committee on Constitutional Reform were asked to submit proposals to a draft bill which will see the establishment of the Constitutional Reform Commission. It is envisaged that the commission will deal specifically with constitutional reform and will comprise political parties and civil society. However, proposals nor counterproposals have been forthcoming from the Opposition members.
He said that the members were initially given up to April 22, 2022, to make their submissions. However, they requested an extension.
On June 17, 2022, when the committee was slated to meet, Nandlall said that several opposition members were absent and therefore there was no quorum.
“Nothing has been forthcoming from the Opposition. The Opposition members who were present, could not offer us a sensible explanation for their nonsubmission of any proposal. One member claimed that [Opposition Leader Aubrey] Mr Norton was unavailable and that affected their ability to put forward a proposal. Another member claimed that she was recently appointed to the Committee and that she was unaware that there was an outstanding obligation on the part of the Opposition to make proposals, ” Nandlall said.
Nandlall concluded that while the APNU+AFC appears to be enthusiastic about constitutional reform, the same drive is not being manifested in their output at the Committee.
The AG reiterated that for constitutional reform to be effective, it requires bipartisan cooperation on behalf of all political parties in the National Assembly. “It is one exercise in the National Agenda of our country that can only yield any measure of success if both sides are participating and are working together. Thus far, we have seen abysmal noncooperation and participation from the Opposition benches.”
Nandlall said that he is hopeful that the submissions can be made as early as possible so that the bill can be laid in the House before recess.
He added that as the Chairperson of the Committee, he nor the government will accept responsibility for the process grinding at this slow pace.
“We are ready to push the process, and that is what we have been doing, or else we won’t have had any progress at all.”
Guyana Standard understands that the Opposition members have been given up to next Tuesday to make their submissions.
