Despite a controversial ruling by Chief Justice Ian Chang that the National Assembly did not have the power to cut the 2012 budget, the AFC is sticking to the position that the opposition-majority body can make deletions and will do so if necessary for this year’s budget.
The party also intends to appeal the CJ’s ruling if it is made final.
Last April, the opposition effected $20 billion in cuts from the budget, citing a lack of transparency and accountability in the explanations for the allocations. Attorney General Anil Nandlall subsequently moved to the courts and Justice Chang in an interim ruling said that the National Assembly did not have the power to cut the budget but the court could not restore the funding sought by government, except for allocations to the Ethnic Rela-tions Commission (ERC) which is a constitutional agency and entitled to draw directly from the Consoli-dated Fund.
AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan when contacted yesterday told Stabroek News that despite the ruling, the party will proceed as it