THE Official Gazette of Guyana will soon be available at more locations countrywide and the online databases where it can be sourced are currently being expanded.

These are part of government’s efforts to ensure persons are better acquainted with the document, and to strengthen security and enhance protection against proprietary fraud.

The Official Gazette is considered the ‘legal newspaper’ of a country as it has the statutory authority to publish public and legal notices, on a periodic basis. It also plays a major role in the conveyancing of property, as prior to the passing of a title for a property, a notice of the conveyance must be published in the Official Gazette.

The importance of the document is emphasised by the Interpretation and General Clauses Act. Section 15 states that all Acts of Parliament must be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into operation on the date of publication, while Section 21 states that the same applies to all proclamations, rules, regulations, orders, and by-laws.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, on Sunday, disclosed that last Thursday, he made several recommendations to Cabinet to make the document more accessible, which were approved.

Nandlall noted that the entire system is being reviewed to correct weaknesses at the different levels which contribute to proprietary fraud. He identified one of the weaknesses as the inaccessibility of the Official Gazette to the ordinary Guyanese.

The print edition of the Official Gazette was available only at the Office of the President for sale. Nandlall had previously noted that this has been a significant disservice to the people of Guyana and steps will be taken to see that it is distributed countrywide.

Acting upon that, the Attorney General has made the necessary arrangements for the print edition to be on sale at the Guyana National Printers Ltd, Lot 1 Public Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, Guyana.
It will also be available at Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, Regional Democratic Councils, post offices, and other government agencies countrywide, for perusal free of cost.

The Attorney General noted that based on the demand and feasibility, steps will be taken to have the document available for sale countrywide.

Additionally, the print edition, by virtue of the Official Gazette Bill 2012, is published online for free at www.officialgazette.gov.gy.

“In my last tenure as Attorney General, I had tabled a law in the parliament which was passed to put the Official Gazette online and the Legal Affairs Ministry has since been posting gazettes online on a website created by the Ministry; however, persons are still not utilizing that facility which is free,” Nandlall said.

He explained to the Guyana Chronicle that a massive public awareness campaign must be launched to educate persons on how important the Official Gazette is, as well as how it can be accessed.

He noted that we now live in a world where technology plays an important role in our everyday lives. The majority of persons are equipped with internet-ready devices and have access to various social media platforms. Against this backdrop, an Official Gazette Facebook Page has been launched.

“I’m appealing to persons to go on that page, like it, and my ministry will be uploading the Official Gazette in a format that is readable on Facebook. I have also requested my staff to make the website more user friendly,” Nandlall noted.

He said that other recommendations agreed to by Cabinet include having every ministry’s website and the Department of Public Information website linked to the Official Gazette, so persons can access it from those platforms.

Nandlall said that through the expanded online access, overseas-based Guyanese who have been victims of property fraud will get the chance to peruse the document for themselves.

In a recent matter, Rohit Lall, age 60, an electrical engineer of Lot 42 Eccles Old Road, East Bank Demerara, discovered that his property was sold to an alleged non-existent individual without his knowledge. This matter is currently being investigated.

Further, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), in the case of Merlene Todd v Desiree Price and Jenifer Jeboo [2021] CCJ 2 (AJ) GY, a case of proprietary fraud, ruled that significant reforms are to be made to prevent such from happening.