Speaker commends both sides as… : Assembly unanimously delinks Supreme Court from Budget agencies

THE National Assembly, last Tuesday night, unanimously agreed to remove the Supreme Court from the schedule of Budget agencies so its finances can be drawn directly from the Consolidated Fund.
That action insulated it from the financial control of the executive arm of Government.The facilitating motion was moved by Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, who said he was doing so in keeping with a commitment from Government with respect to treatment of the Supreme Court’s budget in alignment with those of the other agencies listed in the Third Schedule to the Constitution entities referred to in Article 222A.
Initiating the move, he said he had also placed the allocations for the Supreme Court into a single lump sum of $862.6M.
This means that the Court now has the authority to manage its subvention in such manner as it deems fit for the efficient discharge of its functions; this management subject only to conformity with financial practices approved by the Assembly to ensure accountability.
The law also states that all revenues received by the Court shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
“The terms and conditions applicable to grants and donations vested in the entity shall be approved by and disbursements made through such appropriate Government agencies or departments as determined by the National Assembly,” the Article states.
Speaker of the House, Mr. Raphael Trotman, disclosed that Article 222A of the Constitution stipulates that these requirements are in order to ensure the independence of the entities listed in the Third Schedule, including the Supreme Court.
DIRECT CHARGE
He said the Article states that the expenditure for each of those entities shall be financed as a direct charge on the Consolidated Fund.
This charge is determined as a lump sum by way of an annual subvention approved by the National Assembly as part of the process of determination of the National Budget.
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Mr. Carl Greenidge, pointed out that the removal of the Supreme Court from the list of Budget agencies was not intended to remove the possibility of discussions on its budget in the National Assembly.
“What it removes is the possibility of amending their subvention line by line,” he explained.
The Finance Minister concurred with that view, stating: “I think that the crafters of our new constitution were very deliberate in their choice of language when they said the allocation is determined as a lump sum by way of an annual subvention approved by the National Assembly after a review.
“I think those words are significant in their inclusion.”
Speaker Trotman said: “I wish to commend both the Minister of Finance and the Opposition who took the time to sit in discussions so that we may arrive at this historic first step. I reiterate that anything and everything can be settled and be resolved if we put our minds up to do it, even if it means having heated discussions, at the end of which, we will have achieved something.”
Written By Clifford Stanley 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.