For this year, the justice sector is to be allocated $4.7 billion from the proposed $552.9 billion national budget.
In his budget presentation, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh that in 2021, $879 million was spent on the completion and construction of courts and living quarters countrywide before noting that for this year $1.3 billion will be expended to support the judiciary to improve access to justice, especially in previously underserved areas.
To this end, he said that the Port Kaituma, Mabaruma and Vigilance magistrates’ courts will be completed this year, while two additional magistrates’ courts and living quarters along the East Bank of Demerara, at Timehri and Friendship, will be advanced.
The minister pointed out that these investments will increase the number of courts around the country to 46 in 2022, from 41 in 2019 and will result in more timely delivery and improved access to the justice.
Singh said, too, that a further $250 million has been allocated to improve the criminal justice system in 2022 and against this background noted that the funding University of Guyana’s Prosecutorial Programme, aimed at increasing the number of trained prosecutors, will be commencing this year with an initial 25 students for a 13-week period. Further, he said that judicial policies aimed at reducing over-reliance on imprisonment are being developed to increase the use of alternative sentencing in the justice system.
To complement these initiatives, Singh said that a Management Information System for the Ministry of Legal Affairs (Restorative Justice), the Ministry of Human Services (Probation Department), the Guyana Police Force, and the Director of Public Prosecutions will become operational this year to ensure a coordinated approach to the effective management of cases.
According to Singh, “government recognizes that the stability and strength of the justice sector are paramount to public trust and to investor confidence” and against that backdrop he added that “we have always supported, and will continue to support, the implementation of reforms in order to enhance and modernize our judicial system, while at the same time maintaining the highest respect for their constitutional independence.”
