…begins this afternoon before Chief Justice
LAWYERS representing Government and Opposition Members of Parliament will this afternoon meet in a legal battle to get the Acting Chief Justice, Mr. Ian Chang, to order or not to order that the over $20B cut from the  Office of the President budget 2012 by the Opposition be restored.
The motion tabled by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Anil Nandlall, is also seeking an interim order to permit Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, to make advances from the contingencies fund to restore the original budget estimates for the agencies affected by the cuts.
The Government of Guyana has moved to the High Court to get an order that the over $20B cut from the Office of the President Budget be restored on the ground that the National Assembly had no power to reduce the annual budget estimates.
The defendants in the action are Raphael Trotman, in his capacity as Speaker of the National Assembly, David Granger, in his capacity as Leader of the Opposition, and Dr. Ashni Singh, in his capacity as Minister of Finance.

The Plaintiff claims against the defendants, jointly and severally are:-
(1)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 26th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 012 – Presidential Advisory (Cabinet and Other Services), Account Code and Description 6116 – Contract Employees and 6284 – Other from GYD$296,959,000.00 to GYD$147,000,000.00 and from GYD$104,243,000.00 to GYD$24,200,000.00 is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(2)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 26th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 031 Ministry Administration, Account Code and Description 6321 – Subsidies and Contributions to Local Organisations from GYD$6,724,352.00 to GYD$6,499,933.00 is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(3)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 26th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 031 Ministry Administration, Account Code and Description – 3401000 Low Carbon Development from GYD$18,394,650,000.00 to GYD$1.00 is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(4)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 24th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 011 Administrative Services, Account Code and Description – 6321 Subsidies and Contributions to Local Organisations from GYD$918,719,000.00 to GYD$707,149,000.00 is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(5)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 24th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 011 Administrative Services, Account Code and Description – 6321 Government Information Agency from GYD$130,398,000.00 to GYD$1.00 and Account Code and Description 3400700 from GYD$15,000,000.00 to GYD$1.00, is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(6)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 24th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 011 Administrative Services, Account Code and Description – 6321 National Communications Network from GYD$81,172,000.00 to GYD$1.00 and Account Code and Description 4502100 from GYD$65,000,000.00 to GYD$1.00, is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(7)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 24th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 011 Administrative Services, Account Code and Description 1212000 Information Communications Technology from GYD$6,750,000,000.00 to GYD$6,580,000,000.00, is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(8)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 24th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 011 Administrative Services, Account Code and Description 1212000 – Minor Works from GYD$95,000,000.00 to GYD$1.00, is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(9)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 24th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 112 Elections Administration, Account Code and Description 6293 Refreshment and Meals from GYD$53,700,000.00 to GYD$27,000,000.00, and Account Code and Description 6294 – Other from GYD$902,800,000.00 to GYD$403,000,000.00, is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(10)  A Declaration that the reduction of Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly on the 24th April, 2012, in respect of line-item 021 Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Account Code and Description 6321 – Guyana Power and Light from GYD$6,000,000,000.00 to GYD$5,000,000,000.00, is an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

(11)  An Order vacating and/or setting aside the reduction of the Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012, put and carried in the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly and the National Assembly, on the 24th and 26th days of April, 2012, in respect of the matters more fully set out in Schedule A, hereto attached.

(12)  That the third-named Defendant be at liberty to make advances/ withdrawals from the Contingencies Fund, pursuant to Article 220 of the Constitution, for the purpose of restoring the funds to the Agencies listed in Schedule A hereto attached, as originally budgeted in the Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for the year 2012.

(13)  Such further or other relief as this Honourable Court deems just.

(14)  Costs

This writ is issued by the Attorney General, whereby the first-named Defendant (Trotman) is sued in his capacity as Speaker of the National Assembly and Leader of the List of Candidates for the Alliance for Change; while the second-named Defendant is sued in his capacity as Leader of the Opposition (Granger).
The third-named Defendant is the Minister of Finance.