Attorney and former MP Ramesh Rajkumar was unanimously elected as the President of the Guyana Association of Legal Practitioners on Wednesday.
The Association, which replaces the defunct Berbice Bar Association, held elections for officer bearers at the Berbice High Court. Former Director of Public Prosecutions and ex-Judge Denis Hanomansingh was elected as Vice President; Norma Lewis—one of two female lawyers in the association—was elected as Secretary; former Magistrate Rohan Chandan was elected as Treasurer; attorney Charrandass Persaud was elected as Assistant Secretary/Treasurer; and Joe Misir, Perry Gossai and former Judge Kumar Doraisami were elected as committee members. Like Rajkumar, they were all unanimously elected to serve for the next two years. Attorney Gregory Gaskin performed the duties of Returning Officer.
Rajkumar said the Association, which has 14 financial members, was created to improve the functioning of the legal profession in every possible way. He added that it plans to begin work immediately since there are burning issues to be ironed out, including the functioning of the Land Registry in Berbice and Guyana, in general. He said the issue was a sore point, adding that there is a need for the general improvement, attitude and functioning of the entire registry.
The Association would also be requesting that the GRA that an estate duty officer be station in Berbice, he noted, and it is also pursuing the hiring of librarian or staff for the non-functioning Berbice Law Library. There are also plans to make Identification Cards for members of the association.
Rajkumar was grateful to the Association’s membership for its unanimous support and confidence it showed in him electing him to move the association forward. He also committed himself to working closely with the Guyana Bar Association and other like organisations, the head of the judiciary as well as other authorities to make sure that the judicial system remains a distinguished feature of the society.