By Zena Henry

When Senior Counsel Basil Williams, member of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was named the country’s Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs following the country’s 2015 General Elections, it was a move that few could argue with, given that he is inarguably one of the country’s most dynamic and prominent legal minds.

Known for his astute and forthright stance as a public figure, the veteran lawyer of 33 years has much to be commended for. Williams said he is extremely proud of his handling of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act, the assistance rendered to law students and the upgrade of the registries among many other achievements.

The new Attorney General was instrumental in getting Guyana off the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) blacklist after the previous administration had failed to adhere to international legislation to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Moreover, Williams was, in 2016, further appointed as Deputy Chairman of the said institution. The country was also lauded by the American Regional Review Group (ARRG) for passing four pieces of legislation within a year.

The AG said he was also happy to have been of some assistance to Guyanese law students studying at the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago where he was able to get Cabinet to contribute a percentage of tuition fees for 50 law students up to 2018. Law students had faced some difficulty with automatic entry into the Law School, but this was quickly handled when President David Granger influenced Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders at one of their meetings to address the matter.

The issue was quickly resolved when it was learnt that the previous administration had not been making their contribution to the entity, resulting in a grave disadvantage for students from Guyana.

Since the Attorney General took office, he has been able to improve the Deeds and Commercial Registry to include new accommodation and securing the services of a Registrar and Deputy.

Services at the Land Registry have also improved, compared to that which citizens previously experienced relating to administration. The system has also been computerised and currently, moves are being made to have a regional coordination where local services and information on these registries could be accessed anywhere in the region.

JOH Law School
Minister Williams is vigorously exploring the possibility of having a law school here in Guyana. He explained that Guyana has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Jamaican partners and a feasibility study on the viability of the school is on the way.

“I am very optimistic about this,” the minister posited. The collaborative agreement between the region’s Council of Legal Education, the University of Guyana and the University of the West Indies (UWI) was also addressed after this was left undone by the last government.
Within 100 days of taking office, the government was able to pass the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill and Financial Management and Accountability (Amendment) Act, Williams reminded. Those things were to restore the independence of the Judiciary and constitutional commissions,” he said.

Williams added that the judiciary was undermined when they were slated to be budget agencies. It meant that the constitutional body was not allowed to draw up its own budget and allocate funds where it saw fit. Now, they determine their own priorities, and Williams charged that this is one of the areas where Government is fulfilling its promise on returning the ‘Rule of Law’.

Corruption endemic
He said it was not until getting into office that he realised that corruption was “endemic”. “Even in my Ministry, there was no formal handing over.”

The AG said that he spoke with his predecessor, but nothing that contributed to smoothly continuing the work of the office came about. The AG reminded that since taking office, he is still to locate relevant documents on major issues, stating that they are not in the Chambers. They include information on the collaborative agreement between UWI, UG and Legal Council, and information on large financial judgments made against the then government.

The AG noted, however, that despite the office not being properly handed over, he was well abreast with current issues, while attending certain meetings such as those of CFATF and briefings with the Legal Council for example.

These, he said, further enabled him to acquaint himself with issues, and afforded him the opportunity to handle them appropriately. Under the AG’s watch, some other prominent matters include the State Asset Recovery Agency, Cybercrime, Whistleblower legislation and witness protection. Sometime soon, Minister Williams said that work will also commence regarding the extra-judicial killings that took place in Guyana’s not so distant past.