— says Attorney-General
ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has debunked what he labelled an “outrageous statement” from the Bar Association of Guyana which contended that the organisation had not been adequately consulted on the drafting of the Local Content Bill that was passed in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
“My understanding is that the Bar Association of Guyana was one of the most consulted organisations. They participated for several months in several engagements which I consider to be consultations,” Nandlall said during an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Wednesday.
In making his point, Nandlall referenced multiple occasions when consultations were held with the Bar Association, including on December 13, 2021 at the Pegasus Hotel when himself, Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh and Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat met with various local organisations.
Offering remarks, Senior Petroleum Coordinator at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Bobby Gossai Jr., and the ministry’s Legal Officer, Michael Munroe, confirmed that the government has been consulting with the Bar Association of Guyana since March 2021 and that the organisation was consulted up to the day before the bill was passed.
The Bar Association in its statement noted that “there is no justification for the provision of legal services to be anything other than 100 per cent,” and rejected the Attorney General’s arguments in the National Assembly during the debate of the bill that Guyana does not have full capacity and that is why the target is set at 90 per cent.
“We outright reject these ill-informed comments, particularly since we have not, despite requests, not been told what areas of law members of the Bar in Guyana are not qualified to practise (there being no such limitation in the LPA) and who is to provide the other 10 per cent,” the statement noted.
However, Nandlall maintained that the local legal sector does not have 100 per cent capacity to deal with all matters stemming from the industry as it is a new industry, but emphasised that the schedule will be amended as the local sector improves its capacity through experience in the industry.
TEMPORARY BENCHMARK
“We have said repeatedly that 90 per cent is a temporary benchmark that we are setting. I know the Bar Association feel that they know alot of law and they can do everything under the sun, but as a government we have to be careful, these contracts are complicated, they are complex, that we may not have the skill to do it in Guyana,” he said.
“I don’t know that we have in Guyana 100 per cent competency in relation to all legal matters, to feel that way alone by itself is a statement, so it’s unfortunate that the Bar Association has reacted in the way that they have,” he added.
WORK IN PROGRESS
Nandlall emphasised that the Local Content Bill is a “work in progress,” as it is the first legislation of its kind for the country which governs a completely new, complex and sophisticated sector.
“This is a dynamic piece of legislation, it’s alive and it will be modified as we apply ourselves, we get more experience, as have a better understanding and a better appreciation of the sector, the sector needs and as well as our local capacity and we will make the adjustments when the occasion arises,” Nandlall said.
“This oil sector belongs to the people of Guyana … we will adjust it to accommodate our needs, this whole bill is to ensure that Guyanese are protected, that Guyanese interest is protected … this is not designed with any sinister motive to give any other set of people an advantage other than the people of Guyana,” he added.
The Minister of Natural Resources also spoke on the matter during a press conference on Thursday, when he too pointed out that the Bar Association was consulted with. He also referenced the consultation held at the Pegasus Hotel on December 13.
“In the evening we had a break-away session where each sector or group was represented by at least one person, so that we can go through the schedule line by line and there was a representative from the Bar Association there,” he said.
“And you might be surprised when I tell you here today that the representative that [sic] was at the consultations suggested that we do not include legal services in the schedule,” he added.
The minister noted that regardless of the recommendation that legal services be omitted, based on advice from the Attorney-General and other legal consultants, it was unfair not to include legal services in the schedule. Hence, it was included and placed at 90 per cent.
“This can be changed with an Order, easily, once we recognise that there’s capacity we can easily change this from 90 per cent to 100 per cent, but it will be unfair not to include local legal services in the schedule,” he said.
Bharrat maintained that the information can be easily verified that the Bar Association was present at the consultation and offered remarks as over 50 other individuals were present at the time.
