On July 19, 2017, following a landmark ruling by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George on the classes of persons eligible to be appointed as Chairman of GECOM, President Granger struck a defiant note. Instead of immediately recognising the ruling and showing respect for it even if it was going to be appealed, the President said that the Chief Justice had delivered a decision based on her perception of the law and that he would continue to act on his own perception.
“I will continue to act in accordance with my perception of the constitution. That is to say I will not appoint somebody who I do not consider fit and proper”, he said. It was a most impolitic statement pregnant with disrespect for the ruling of the CJ and an early sign of what was to come. By the time the CJ had given this particular ruling, 12 names of nominees for the GECOM Chairmanship had already been discarded. The President would go on to throw out a third list of six names before shockingly deciding to make the unilateral appointment of retired justice James Patterson as GECOM Chairman. That alliance between the President and Justice Patterson is now leading to the subversion of GECOM and the work it must complete to comply with the constitutional stricture for the holding of general elections.
While the President may preface many of his important actions with glib assurances of compliance with the constitution and respect for judicial decisions, the manifestations on the ground are quite different. After fleeting acceptance of the outcome of the December 21, 2018 motion of no-confidence in Parliament, the President and his government set off on a Sisyphean journey against the outcome of the motion, all the while violating the tenets of the constitution and its easily understood words.
Without any relief from the courts -as there could hardly be a ruling against the constitution – the government continued to hold Cabinet meetings even though article 106(6) of the constitution is pellucid in its articulation of the resignation of the Cabinet.
It was only upon the Chief Justice’s upholding of the no-confidence vote on January 31, 2019 and with the pressure building from various parts of civil society that the government altered its modus operandi – but in a way that shows scant respect for the constitution. Officials of the government have come up with the novel idea of a “plenary” of ministers during which they conduct the same business that Cabinet executed including taking note of contracts that have been approved by the evaluation committees of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board.
In the words of Minister of State, Harmon on Friday, “It is noted that there is a judgment of the Court that was made with respect to the Cabinet and that judgment is appealed but we do not have a stay of the judgment as yet and, therefore, we have not held Cabinet meetings as such… Ministerial plenaries are chaired by the President and includes all of the ministers and therefore has all of the powers that a Cabinet can have”.
So there you have it. Despite the prohibition of cabinet meetings by the constitution, the upholding of the motion of no-confidence by the Speaker and the affirmation of the validity of the vote by the CJ, the government has written its own doctrine to bypass the constitution. It is apparently co-equal to the constitution or runs parallel to it.
This defiance of the constitution and judiciary dovetails with the President’s aforementioned outlook on the CJ’s GECOM ruling and gashes the rule of law. The government has to cease subverting the constitution and deceiving the public. It is rife with danger and undermines the rule of law, the foundation of all democratic states.
The base behaviour doesn’t end there. It now extends into the abuse of state resources for campaign purposes. Even though the government is desperately seeking a stay of the December 21 motion of no confidence, it has no qualms about steaming ahead with aggressive campaigning for general elections under the guise of an outreach. One would have thought that since it was challenging the legitimacy of the no-confidence motion, the government would have done the honourable thing and restrained itself from using its incumbency to campaign for re-election.
The descent by 19 ministers into the Rupununi on Friday was nothing but an unvarnished campaign junket no matter the spin by Minister Harmon. Since only the state media was facilitated on this excursion, it is difficult to determine the extent of the direct campaigning that occurred. The government should provide the names of all officials who participated in this trip, the total cost, materials and assistance provided to the various communities and list the pledges that have been made.
As the government continues full speed ahead with the violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution of Guyana it is the case that all components of APNU+AFC are equally culpable: the PNCR, the AFC, the WPA and the rest. However, it is President Granger who will be held finally accountable for not adhering to the constitution and history shall judge him accordingly.
