Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall has said the claim by APNU+AFC Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul that some $700 million will be paid to the three Commissioners serving on the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the March 2020 general and regional election is completely fabricated.
In a social media statement on Thursday, Mahipaul said that he noticed Nandlall referencing his letter to Commissioner of Information Charles Ramson Snr requesting information on the remuneration packages of the Chair, Commissioners and other members of the CoI. He said that the Attorney General “played politics instead of telling the nation what are the salaries and benefits of the Commissioners and resource personnel for the 2020 Election Commission of Inquiry.”
Mahipaul’s statement further read “…from my source at the Office of the President, I was informed that Retired Justice Stanley John who will be the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the 2020 Election Inquiry would be paid $200M as his salary. The other two Commissioners I am told will receive $150M each. The two are Carl Singh and Godfrey P. Smith. I am further told that the two resource personnel will receive $100M each. That gives a total of $700M just for salary.”
Mahipaul also said that while he cannot confirm the accuracy of the figure, he is hopeful that the Commissioner of Information would grant his request and provide the remuneration packages.
On Friday, Nandlall told Sunday Stabroek that as far as he is aware, there are no official calculations of the remuneration packages of the commissioners and support staff
“…preliminarily, I will reject that calculation [proffered by Mahipaul] as facetious and fabricated. The Commission of In-quiries Act stipulates very clearly that Commissions of Inquiry launched under that Act are to be funded from public funds appropriated by the Parliament. So at the appropriate time, the relevant financial papers in respect of this Commission will be laid in the National Assembly for the appropriation to begin and the entire country will become aware,” he explained.
Nandlall said that the CoI is currently in its preparatory stages where its physical location is being established. He said that the venue is being readied and the Secretariat is being set up.
“So at this preparatory level, it is almost impossible for Mahipaul to come up with this figure. This is yet another manifestation of PNC menu of lies and APNU menu of lies being churned out. Mahipaul has been suspended from the Parliament, as you know, and he has nothing to do other than create these mischiefs around the place,” Nandlall charged.
Be advised accordingly
Mahipaul on Monday submitted his request for the remuneration packages of the Commissioners and staffers to Ramson Snr.
In his request for information, Mahipaul submitted “…their remuneration packages (salaries and other benefits) were not announced. Therefore, I write to you in your capacity as Com-missioner of Information to provide me with the salaries and other benefits of the commissioners and resource personnel. Additionally, if there are other persons attached to this commission that shall be receiving salaries and other benefits, please provide.”
In his response, Ramson Snr told Mahipaul that the Access to Information Act of 2011 design-ed the Office of the Commissioner of Information as a “clearing house” and not a “warehouse”. He said that Mahipaul should approach the relevant public officials before approaching the Office of the Commissioner of Information.
“Public Authorities as defined by s.2, therefore, includes the Office of the President and, therefore, you are required to ascertain the requisite information therefrom. Should you be denied it or are dissatisfied with their response on grounds inconsistent with the aforesaid Act, you may be entitled to secure the assistance of this office, free of charge,” Ramson Snr’s letter informed.
He also advised Mahipaul to be guided accordingly, adding that literature and public awareness programmes on the Access to Information Act is publicly available.
Mahipaul told Sunday Stabroek that it is unfortunate that the Commissioner of Information, who receives a “fat cat” salary, would pen such a response to a request which should be facilitated by his office.
“One can only conclude that taxpayers money is being wasted on that office and I am now forced to believe that indeed $700 million of taxpayers money will be spent on salaries and benefits for the five persons over a 6 months period as was told to me by a source from Office of the President. I don’t understand why this is a top-secret, well-protected and highly guarded information. My next step as a tax-paying Guyanese and elected Member of Parliament will be to seek legal guidance on how to proceed,” he briefly said.
On September 13, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan administered the oath of office to John, retired Trinidad Justice of Appeal; Smith SC, former Attorney General, High Court Judge and Acting Justice of Appeal in the Eastern Carib-bean,; and Singh, former Chancellor (Ag), of the Guyana Judiciary. Justice John will serve as chair while Dr Nasim Zaidi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India; and Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, former Chairman of the Ghana Elections Commission will serve as resource personnel. Both of these men had been present as advisors during the elections under the auspices of the Commonwealth.
The CoI is a result of a promise by President Irfaan Ali to investigate the attempt to rig the March 2020 polls. Five months after the March 2nd 2020 polls and after a series of legal battles, Ali was finally declared the winner of the presidential elections and subsequently sworn in as the country’s ninth executive president, on August 2, 2020.
After taking office, he promised the probe into the elections by an international team. He had also committed his government to pursue the necessary reforms to strengthen democracy and make the electoral process more transparent.
