The court challenge to the controversial Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act was withdrawn on Friday and the way is now cleared for an APNU motion calling for the repeal of the legislation to proceed in the National Assembly.
APNU Member of Parliament Desmond Trotman had filed the challenge and his attorney Christopher Ram confirmed the withdrawal yesterday. Ram, who has said that he is not in agreement with the parliamentary standing orders which prevented such a matter being discussed in the National Assembly, the highest law making body in the land, because a citizen had challenged the matter in court, said he can see no obstacle now for the motion to be debated in the House.
The matter was on the agenda for last Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly but it was postponed to the next sitting with is slated for May 30. The motion is being moved by APNU Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge. Attorney General Anil Nandlall argued last week that the matter of the President’s pension was engaging the attention of the court and therefore any debate on it would have been sub judice. Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman had indicated that if there was no matter pending before the courts, then the mover of the motion was free to go ahead with the matter at the next sitting.
In December, Trotman had filed a writ challenging the constitutionality of the controversial benefits bill which was passed by the Jagdeo administration and signed into law in 2009. That law gives a series of benefits without caps to former President Bharrat Jagdeo and any other former President and has been widely condemned by the opposition and parts of civil society. It was one of the major lightning rods during the 2011 Elections Campaign.
In the days following the announcement of the elections results, the opposition said that it intended to use its majority to review the benefits package for former presidents, to bring it in line with what is received by other former heads of state in the region. On the campaign trail the APNU and the AFC, in particular, questioned the exorbitant nature of the benefits that then President Jagdeo would earn upon leaving office. The PPP/C government had objected to the matter being raised and accused the opposition parties of misrepresenting the matter to the public. The AFC estimated that Jagdeo’s pension and other benefits would cost the state $3.2M a month.
Section 2 of the Former Presidents (Benefits and other Facilities) Act, states that every person who having held the office of President and ceased to hold that office by virtue of the provisions of Article 92 of the Constitution or otherwise shall, during the remainder of his lifetime, be entitled to the following:
a. payment in respect of the expenses incurred in the provision and use of water, electricity and telephone services at the place of residence in Guyana;
b. services of personal and household staff including an attendant and a gardener;
c. services of clerical and technical staff, if requested;
d. free medical attendance and medical treatment or reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by him for the medical attendance or treatment of himself and the dependant members of his family;
e. full-time personal security and services of the Presidential Guard Service at the place of residence;
f. the provision of motor vehicles owned and maintained by the State;
g. toll free road transportation in Guyana;
h. an annual vacation allowance equivalent to the cost of two first class return airfares provided on the same basis as that granted to serving members of the Judiciary;
i. a tax exemption status identical to that enjoyed by a serving President.
Further, Section 3 of the Act says: The Minister may, subject to negative resolution of the National Assembly, make regulations for giving effect to the provisions of this Act.
