The Government of Guyana is not opposed to entering into mediation with the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G) over its subvention, Attorney General Anil Nandlall yesterday said.
The move for mediation was suggested by acting Chief Justice, Roxane George, during initial court hearings between IDPADA-G and the government. IDPADA-G has now written the Attorney General, formally asking that they meet to iron out an ongoing dispute over the withholding of the subvention for the organization.
At a press conference held yesterday at the IDPADA-G head office on North Road, Chairman of IDPADA-G’s Coordinating Council, Vincent Alexander, said they have made a move to enter into mediation. “The idea is to have dialogue and our objective is to pursue the release of moneys for last year and to ensure that the moneys are released for the rest of the decade,” Alexander said during the press conference.
Nandlall, in an invited comment yesterday, said that at the suggestion of the judge, he indicated that government was not opposed to mediation. However, he stated that he has not reviewed the contents of the letter sent to him by Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes, on behalf of IDPADA-G. While confirming receipt of the email, Nandlall said it was only sent at 4.20 yesterday afternoon. “I have received a five line email from Mr. Nigel Hughes at 4.20pm. I have not looked at the content of the email as yet,” Nandlall stated. He pointed out, however, that the request for a meeting was made way before he received an email on behalf of IDPADA-G.
In December, the IDPADA-G moved to the court over Government’s refusal to pay its $8 million monthly subvention. IDPADA-G sought an order mandamus directing the Minister of Finance to immediately pay to it the sum that the Government had committed to. Hughes yesterday said that entering into mediation would not impact the court hearing.
“It is hoped that the Attorney General will act with some form of alacrity…It is an unconditional invitation to engage,” Hughes explained. According to Alexander, while they have made a request for dialogue, the first stage for discussion is to mutually determine who the mediator would be. “…we have not jumped the gun by suggesting who should be the mediator but what we have done is to say we would like to have discussions on the matter,” Alexander explained.
Government reportedly owes IDPADA-G an estimated $48m in subventions from September 2022 to present. At a previous press conference, Hughes said they had sought an order from the court for the government to immediately pay over the funds it committed to pay which was passed by the National Assembly and formed part of the Appropriation Bill signed by President Irfaan Ali. The attorney pointed out that successive governments had established a practice to annually provide a subvention to IDPADA-G to carry out its programme. The practice of a subvention was initiated in 2018 by then President David Granger and was approved and paid every succeeding year.
The IDPADA-G application was filed against Attorney General Nandlall, SC; Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr. In the application the organisation is asking for a declaration by the court that if the government wanted to change its legitimate expectation of the subvention then it should have given notice and invited and offered IDPADA-G an opportunity to be heard as to the reasons why the subvention was being stopped. However, IDPADA-G said it was never notified of the government’s intention and as such could not have asked the reason nor were they given an opportunity to be heard. The application also set out that as a result of the relationship between the government and IDPADA-G, the organisation committed to carry out certain programmes and relied on the commitment of the Government for this to be done.
Legitimate expectation
The breach of the legitimate expectation, Hughes said the application argues, has resulted in IDPADA-G suffering tremendous loss and having to shed staff and even close a night school. The lives of many persons were affected and IDPADA-G is now exposed to claims of damages and breaches of contracts by those it would have commenced contractual arrangements with on the basis of the monthly subvention. IDPADA-G, according to its website, was set up to craft the Guyana plan for the International Decade for People of African Descent in keeping with the provisions of the UN resolution inclusive of mechanisms for implementing, superintending, and monitoring the plan as may be deemed necessary. IDPADA-G says that it is an assembly of African organisations and its general assembly is made up of one representative from each of the registered organizations. The organization consists of the General Assembly, a Coordinating Council, a Secretariat and Sub-committees.
The organisation’s objectives include expanding Afro-Guyanese’s share in the economy; increasing access to training and employment opportunities; restoring excellence in education, ensuring equity, justice, and the respect for human and civil rights; demanding reparations; and the preservation of Afro-Guyanese’ history and culture. There has been a public spat between the government and IDPADA-G over several months with the government accusing the body of mismanaging its funds. Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, who has been at the centre of the spat, had accused the organisation of being a private company and not doing anything to further the development of people of African descent.
