PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Governance, Ms. Gail Teixeira, has advised that government is of the view that the bills presented by the opposition and on the order paper in the National Assembly are flawed and in many areas, violate the constitution.

She made this statement during the weekly post-cabinet media briefing yesterday at the Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, while acting in the capacity of Cabinet Secretary as Dr. Roger Luncheon remains hospitalised.
Teixeira specifically pointed to the Office of the Clerk Bill which has been sent by A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Volda Lawrence to a special select committee.
The bill seeks the establishment and administration of an independent Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly.
She said the bill has been sent to the committee despite the government and Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall, advising that it is unconstitutional, noting that by the Constitution the Attorney-General is the principal legal adviser to the government.
“The debate proceeded and the matter was sent to a special select committee. The members of that committee were nominated yesterday at the Thursday sitting and the opposition has the majority,” she stated.
Teixeira further alluded to the Fiscal Management and Accountability Amendment Act which was put forward by APNU MP, Carl Greenidge.
“We have also challenged that on the issue of unconstitutionality and in breach of the constitution in relation to any matters that have financial and other consequences,” she stated.
She stated that Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, had pointed out that the amendment presented by Mr. Greenidge in the first instance amends the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, and that the clause or section being amended states that only the minister by order can amend the schedule.
“Mr. Greenidge is amending the schedule, he is not a minister…he is supposedly taking out entities on that schedule. The problem is that, in the amendment he has placed before the house, he’s taking out entities that aren’t even on the list of that schedule,” she asserted.
In addition, Teixeira advised that the third schedule of the act provides budget agencies. Having removed these agencies, were the bill to go through and be approved by majority, he would be moving budget agencies off the third schedule to “no man’s land”.
“So you have agencies now such as GECOM…were that bill to be passed, where would they get their money from? How would they account for it? How would they monitor it? There is no legal provision to deal with such a hiatus for agencies receiving taxpayers’ money,” she emphasised.
Additionally, Teixeira related that the opposition is also tabling a bill repealing the President’s Benefits Act of 2009 and attempting to replace it with a new act.
She said that Greenidge had brought a motion to amend the president’s pension benefits, which was bill number 25, and the matter was sent to a special select committee.
She noted that the special select committee was established and that it has the majority of the opposition with Mr. Greenidge as the chairperson.
However, Teixeira advised that suddenly a bill Number 29 appeared with the same name as bill 25, and majority of the same content but which is in fact repealing the 2009 act and attempting to replace it with this new act for former presidents’ benefits.
Nevertheless, she stressed that it is important to note that bills are not retroactive.
“No bill is retroactive, so if this bill is meant to attack former president Mr. Jagdeo or to fulfil an election promise that APNU would be able to remove the benefits that President Jagdeo is entitled to, they are fooling the Guyanese people because no bill, no act is retroactive,” she asserted.
In addition, she highlighted that the amendments in both bills are vindictive and an offence to what has been the custom and the practice of the administration.
She stated that since the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government entered office in 1992, former presidents, prime ministers and leaders of the opposition have all been treated with great courtesy, particularly involving medical situations.
She stressed that they all served Guyana and therefore were entitled to whatever it cost to take care of their medical treatment when required.
“There was never ever a question that when any other former president was ill and required urgent or general medical attention, no one in this administration or any former president has ever said that’s too much money,” she said.
However, Teixeira noted that the amendment in bill 25 and the new bill 29 are exactly the same when it comes to medical benefits of the former president. She explained that it says that the former president and his spouse and a natural child are entitled to a maximum of $200,000 per annum.
“This is unthinkable and it breaches what is the commonsense and decency and the respect we have held for persons who have held high offices in this country, and we have spread that to not only presidents, former presidents, their widows or spouses, but also leaders of the opposition…” she asserted.