APNU+AFC Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul has said that the recent explanation offered by the Attorney General relating to the salaries of the Commissioners and support staff of the presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2020 elections raises more questions than answers.
On Sunday, the Stabroek News reported that Attorney General Anil Nandlall’s rubbished Mahipaul’s claim that some $700 million will be paid to the three Commissioners serving on the presidential CoI. Nandlall said that as far as he is aware, there are no official calculations of the remuneration packages of the commissioners and support staff.
“…all Guyanese should now be extremely worried. The Commissioners were sworn in a while now and to date, there are no terms of reference nor are their remuneration packages finalised. Does this make sense? Is the government saying to Guyanese that they hired people but the people don’t know the specifics of their jobs nor do they know what they will be paid? Does that make any sense?
“What will happen should the already sworn-in commissioners say that the government’s offer is too small? Will there be a negotiation? Can the government negotiate given that the Commissioners were already sworn in?” Mahipaul questioned.
Mahipaul said that he finds it rather strange that the government is refusing to reveal the remuneration packages of the Commissioners. The APNU+AFC MP said that he is standing by the contention that the PPP Government has indeed agreed to pay $700 million to the five persons and is now attempting to cover up.
Mahipaul has written 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.”
Ramson Snr has since denied the request and directed Mahipaul to the Office of the President for the information.
On Friday, Nandlall told Stabroek News 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 Inquiries 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.
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.
