Our Mission
To ensure that proper legal services are provided to the Government; to provide statutory services to the public relating to the public trust and bankruptcy matters; and to register titles, mortgages, companies, societies and other bodies as well as other documents, as required by the law.
‘We’ve ended the nightmare of drug wars’ - The Chronicle Newspaper - 25th November, 2019
- Details
…AG tells Diaspora in Antigua as he lays out govt’s first term successes
…urges them to return to ‘green, green grass of home’
ATTORNEY-General, Basil Williams on Saturday evening laid out the coalition government’s successes while in office to a large Guyanese audience in Antigua and Barbuda. And, thanking them for their contributions to the country, he also urged them to return to the “green, green grass of home”.
Williams is on the island for the 50th Plenary and Working Group Meeting of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in Antigua, which opens today. “I know that many of you have left Guyana for various reasons; some to seek greener pastures, others to enhance your education and professional experience,” he began. “I assure you that the government which I represent values your contributions. All of you in some way or the other would have contributed, and still contribute, to our people’s well-being.
“I look forward to you returning to the ‘green, green grass of home’. Our country is perched for economic transformation, and I want to assure all of you that regardless of your political affiliation, you will be welcome,” Williams told the Diasporan meeting.
FIRST TERM
Giving an overview of the government’s performance thus far, Williams told the gathering that Guyana is about to head into general and regional elections; that it has made tremendous progress over the past five years, and that there is demonstrable proof of its achievements over this period. “Your government has established a model of inclusionary government.
The PNCR founded a five-party coalition known as A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), and then joined with the Alliance for Change (AFC) to establish the APNU+AFC coalition, the first time that such a broad-based and credible coalition had contested elections which it won in May 2015,” he said. “We have shown that inclusionary democracy can work, and how it is best suited for our multiracial society.
Your government openly embraced political inclusion; we made no excuses, like others have done, about the need for building political trust as a precondition for political inclusion. We believe and we have shown that the best way to build trust is by working together, and we have done this with our coalition partners,” Williams told the Guyanese on the island.
According to Williams, the government has also restored good governance; that they have dispensed with the rogue governance of the past which spawned a carnival of violence and extra-judicial killings, cronyism, nepotism and corruption. “We have restored sanity and credibility to government. We have ended the nightmare of drug wars, extra-judicial killings, death squads and massacres,” he said. “We have restored peace and calm to our nation, and we are promoting social cohesion, so that our peoples can live in peace and harmony,” he told the audience.
LOCAL DEMOCRACY
Turning his attention to local democracy, he said the APNU+AFC coalition government has restored local democracy, in that local government elections were held for the first time in 2016, and then again in 2018 after a hiatus of more than two decades. Noting that citizens all across Guyana were able to elect their representatives of their choice, Minister Williams said: “Local government elections have revitalised local communities.
Villages once dormant and sleeping are now coming alive. Village economies are being revived.
Four new towns have been established: At Bartica, Lethem, Mabaruma and Mahdia. These towns have been designated as capital towns; they will be expected to drive the development of their respective Regions.” He said local democracy is leading to urban revival and village renewal, as communities are being encouraged to develop their own village improvement plans to boost their development.
TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
On the important issue of Guyana’s sovereignty, Williams told the Diaspora that the coalition government has protected the Motherland and defended its territorial integrity and sovereignty. “We have been successful in having the Secretary-General of the United Nations refer the territorial controversy between Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” he said, adding: “This controversy has bedeviled our nation for more than 53 years; it has impeded our development. We are confident of the rightness of our case, and the eventual affirmation by the ICJ of the 1899 Arbitral Award.
A ‘frontline villages’ policy has been unveiled to ensure the safety of residents and the development of frontier communities that are guardians of our territorial integrity and protectors of our national patrimony. Our Defence Force is being recapitalised. The Guyana People’s Militia has been reestablished and decentralised to ensure a presence in all ten administrative regions, thereby allowing for more rapid response, especially in the event of natural disasters.”
Only last week Foreign Secretary Carl Greenidge told a forum at the University of Guyana that Venezuela has up to November 28 to inform the ICJ on its participation in the oral arguments on whether the court has jurisdiction to hear the case filed by Guyana – Arbitral Award of 1899 (Guyana v Venezuela). In a presentation to the law students, the foreign secretary said Venezuela has until Thursday, November 28, 2019 to inform the ICJ whether or not it will be putting forward oral arguments on the court’s jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter. The oral hearings will be held in The Hague from March 23-27, 2020.
The hearing will determine whether the court has jurisdiction over the case filed by Guyana on March 29, 2018. By so doing, Guyana seeks to obtain from the court a final and binding judgement that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between then British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid and binding, and that Guyana’s Essequibo region belongs to Guyana, and not Venezuela.
Although contending that the ICJ lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate in the matter, Venezuela has failed to submit its Counter-Memorial on Jurisdiction, in response to Guyana’s Memorial on April 18, 2019, a date which was fixed by the court. Nonetheless, the Spanish-speaking country still has an opportunity to contribute to the process, but it must first indicate its willingness to do so by November 28. The foreign secretary said if Venezuela indicates to the ICJ that it will not submit oral arguments, the case will go on unhindered. “Whether or not Venezuela participates, I wouldn’t put it as being immaterial, but it does not frustrate the work of the court. The work of the court will proceed, whether or not they participate,” Greenidge told the law students.
PUBLIC CONFIDENCE
Meanwhile, Minister Williams told the Diaspora meeting that public confidence is being restored in our police service. He said that the government, ever mindful of the need to improve human safety, started the reformation and retooling of the security sector. He made reference to the United Kingdom-funded security sector Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that has been negotiated, and is being implemented with direct oversight from the highest office in the State. “Rogue cops are being removed from the jobs; promotions are now based on merit, and greater accountability is being mainstreamed,” AG Williams said.
On the economic front, he said economic growth has been sustained over the past four years, noting that growth over the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 were 3.2%, 3.4%, 2.1% and 4.1% respectively.
“We are reversing the financial mismanagement which left the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) bankrupt, the rice industry hobbled, and the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) reeling from involuntary indebtedness,” he reported.
He said the government has put behind it a series of inherited infrastructural scandals, scandals such as the shoddy construction of the bridge at Moruca and revetments at Kumaka in the Barima-Waini Region; the stelling at Supenaam, in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region; the bridge at Hope in the Demerara-Mahaica Region; the sugar factory at Skeldon, in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region; the secondary School at Kato in the Potaro-Siparuni Region; and the fibre-optic cable project in the Rupununi Region.
He said investment is increasing and generating new jobs, and that the Guyana Office for Investment in 2018 alone processed some G$89.4B in investments; investments that are expected to result in the creation of 1,644 jobs when fully operational. “We have improved public services wages. The minimum wage of public servants and teachers increased by over 70 per cent, or from $ 39,400 to $ 70,000.
This year we have granted a 9% increases to public servants on the lower salary tiers. Corporations have benefitted from the reduction of the corporate tax rate for manufacturing and non-commercial companies from 30 per cent to 27.5 per cent. The value-added tax (VAT) was reduced to 14 per cent and the VAT threshold increased from $10M to $15M,” Williams told the Guyanese in Antigua.
EDUCATING THE NATION
The Attorney General said education is being accorded the highest priority, noting that more than G$170Bhave been expended on education over the past four years. “Expenditure on the public education sector moved from 14.8 per cent of the national budget in 2014 to 17.0 per cent in 2017. This year, 2019, we are spending $52.2 B on education, up from the G$ 31. 8 B expended in 2015, an increase of 64%. The Public Education Transport Services is providing buses, boats and bicycles to allow our children to get to school in all ten of our administrative Regions. PETS has thus far deployed 27 buses, 10 boats and 4,000 bicycles to assist our children in attending school.
PETS is saving parents money; in some cases the savings can be as high as $48,000 per month per student – money which can now be funnelled into improving the household.”
According to the AG, next year, the government will launch a Decade of Development 2020-2029. The ‘Decade’ will accord the highest priority to education. “It will ensure that there is a school in very village so that children do not have to travel long distances to get to school. The Decade will allow for the emergence of a world-class education system with campuses in each of our Regions.”
Indian High Commissioner pays courtesy call on AG - The Chronicle Newspaper - 19th November, 2019
- Details
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams last week received a courtesy call from the High Commissioner of India to Guyana, His Excellency Dr. K.J.Srinivasa at his Carmichael Office.
His Excellency Dr. Srinivasa was accompanied by Counsellor, Mr. Vijayakumar K, the AG chambers said in a release. Minister Williams and His Excellency Dr. Srinivasa engaged in discussions on the history of India and Guyana relations and the strong and cordial bond between the two countries.
Additionally, the high commissioner stated this is exemplified by the Indian Government’s recent increase in the number of scholarship slots offered to Guyanese students pursuing technical and economic cooperation studies.
Relief soon for CIIP employees, sweeper/cleaners - The Chronicle Newspaper - 17th November, 2019
- Details
– Opposition-controlled NDC continues to frustrate Reg. 2
THE perpetual problem with the Opposition-led Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC) across Guyana is once again evident, this time in Dartmouth Village, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Evergreen/Paradise NDC.
In an effort to frustrate the citizens, the NDC has been stymieing development efforts. Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams heard complaints about the performance of the NDC, to which he provided solutions.
“The Coalition Government is a government for all,” he pointed out, “and these moves by the NDC are profoundly condemned.”
Some of the residents of Dartmouth who turned out for the meeting with the Attorney-General
Additionally, the Community Infrastructure Improvement Project (CIIP) employees raised grave concerns about having to wait for months for salaries to be paid. It was highlighted that the legally necessary signatory for the disbursal of payments is the NDC Chairman, a PPP/C representative.
Many of the employees are single parents and women that rely on their salaries for sustenance. Realising the magnitude of the situation, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Denis Jaikaran has stepped in to offer assistance.
In his remarks to the gathering, the Attorney-General recalled the destitute manner in which communities were left, and the vast improvements the villages have seen in the last four years.
“Ensuring a good life for all Guyanese continues to be the primary focus of this administration. Things you didn’t have before you have now,” the Attorney-General said, adding that the Coalition Government ought to be given another opportunity to continue the work it has started.
AG Williams’ community meeting was one of several ministerial engagements held across Regions One (Barima-Waini) and Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) on Saturday (DPI)
Cooperation vital to raising standard of regional education - The Chronicle Newspaper - 13th November, 2019
- Details
Attorney General, Basil Williams addressing the gathering
– attorney general
By Navendra Seoraj
REGIONAL universities, if they are to survive and compete with some of the larger, international universities, have to cooperate with each other, said Attorney General (AG), Basil Williams.
He believes that competition is needed to raise educational standards but cooperation is necessary to ensure the programmes offered are relevant and suited for the region.
“Regional universities – including the University of Guyana, the University of the West Indies and the University of the Southern Caribbean – should examine avenues for greater cooperation so as to offer courses tailored to our development needs and realities,” said Williams during his remarks at the Indigenous Scholarship Fundraising Gala-Lecture Dinner, hosted by the University of the Southern Caribbean, at the Princess Ramada Hotel.
He urged regional providers of higher education to explore avenues of cooperation so as to ensure that the programmes they offer remain accessible, affordable and appropriate, and are delivered with greater agility.
Higher education is now vital to ensuring that the Caribbean acquires the human resources needed for competitive economies, cohesive societies and inclusive democracies, the attorney general said.
“Providers of higher educational services, however, face the challenges of fiscal constraints, higher costs, difficulties in attracting and retaining quality staff and increased competition from external distance and Open Education programmes,” said Williams.
Higher education, in the Caribbean, faces many constraints. Competition for scarce fiscal resources often means that governments cannot devote as much resources as they would like towards higher education.
Attorney General, Basil Williams flanked by top leaders of the local Seventh-day Adventist conference.
HIGH COSTS
In addition, Williams said the high costs of higher education deter and even discriminate against students of limited means.
“The ability to attract and retain quality staff is dependent on the ability to offer competitive emoluments which often places great demands on the slender budgets of regional universities.
“And then there is the competition from external universities which are utilising technological platforms to offer a wider range and cheaper and more flexible programmes to our students,” Williams said.
Technology is transforming the delivery of education. The use of smart classrooms, multimedia resources, digital libraries, e-tutors and computer software is revolutionising the dissemination of information.
The attorney general said education and Open Education are making higher educational programmes more accessible to ordinary citizens. Technology has created the concept of the ‘virtual classroom’ in which students are no longer required to be physically present at one location for lectures and even examinations.
These new platforms have allowed for the provision of mass educational services across geographic boundaries. Students in one country are able to undertake courses of study in foreign universities without having to leave their homes.
Williams said thousands of students are now able to enroll in Distance Education and Open Education programmes.
He, however, believes the downside for the Caribbean is that those developments can result in greater penetration by foreign universities into the region and the undermining of the competitiveness of regional educational services.
“In the context of these constraints – fiscal, high costs, limitations in attracting quality staff and the growth and penetration of online and distance learning – the need arises for regional universities to become more agile in the delivery of educational services,” Williams said.
It has long been recognised that higher education in the Caribbean has to be accorded greater priority in order for the region to overcome its challenges.
President David Granger, speaking at the opening of the University of the West Indies South Campus of St. Augustine in Penal-Debe, Trinidad and Tobago on July 31, 2015, argued for the region to embrace a new paradigm in higher education.
EMBRACE TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
In that regard, Williams said in response to the existing challenges, regional universities should continue to embrace technological change in education and ensure that there is greater access, affordability, appropriateness and agility in the provision of higher educational services.
He said a good response to the challenges is the Open Campus initiative of the University of the West Indies and the distance programmes offered by the University of the Southern Caribbean.
Guyana will soon also be taking steps to improve the delivery of education, especially when government launches the “Decade of Development” next year.
Williams said the decade will ensure that quality education is delivered and guarantee the constitutional right of free education from nursery to university.
President Granger had announced that the revenues from the production of oil and gas will be directed, inter alia, towards the restoration of free university education.
“However, we have not waited on these revenues to ensure that persons have access to higher education.
“The Government of Guyana has provided scholarships to many persons and recently offered full scholarships for a limited number of law students to pursue legal education at the Hugh Wooding Law School. We understand. It is one of the measures deployed to increase access to higher education,” said Williams.
The provision of university education is not cheap. And it is for this reason that the government congratulated the University of the Southern Caribbean for establishing the ‘Indigenous Scholarship’.
The scholarship paves the way for Guyanese to realise their dreams and improve human resources.
“Those who choose to invest in this programme will be investing in the future of Guyana. You who have already contributed to the scholarship fund you have ensured, through your generosity, that Guyana is left in good hands,” said the attorney general.
Coalition govt will use oil resources wisely - The Chronicle Newspaper - 13th November, 2019
- Details
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Basil Williams on November 4th, 2019, participated in the opening session of the World Bank Group, "Law, Justice and Development Week 2019 "at the World Bank Headquarters, Washington DC.
…AG tells Washington Times PPP took care of family, friends and cronies
The long-impoverished South American nation is striking it rich as Exxon Mobil taps new off-shore oil wells that analysts say could turn Guyana into the world’s No. 1 per capita oil power in five years.
But the massive revenue surge brings with it risks that the tiny country may fall victim to the dreaded “resource curse” that has bedeviled other resource-rich countries in the past. The Guyanese need only look across the border at the cautionary tale provided by Venezuela. Whether Guyana, where 1 in 3 live in poverty, becomes the next Norway or goes the way of Venezuela “will depend on who has custody of the distribution of the new oil and gas wealth,” said the nation’s attorney general, Basil Williams.
On a visit to Washington last week to tout the country’s anti-corruption and social development programmes, Mr. Williams argued Guyanese President David Granger is well aware of the dangers that could undermine the nation’s transformation. Since coming to power four years ago, the Granger administration has “embarked on a very strong anti-corruption drive,” Mr. Williams told The Washington Times. “When we took over, we inherited massive corruption.”
The left-wing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) that held power for the previous 23 years “just took care of family, close friends and cronies,” the attorney general said. “They really impoverished the people of the country.” Exxon will begin pumping oil off Guyana’s coast by next year — a reality that’s fueling some serious political infighting in the former British colony’s capital, where the PPP still holds significant parliamentary seats.
The opposition accuses Mr. Granger, a retired Afro-Guyanese military commander, of being no less corrupt than past governments and of giving the U.S. energy giant overly generous contracts since 2015. Such allegations are expected to be front and center in elections slated for March 2020. Mr. Williams noted that when Mr. Granger came into office, Guyana was on the blacklist of the Paris-based international financial crime-fighting group the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). “We were blacklisted because of the state of the economy, the presence of money launderers and narco-traffickers. We were virtually seen as a narco-state,” the attorney general said.
Guyana got off the FATF list in January 2017 and the reason, according to Mr. Williams, is that “we have substantially reduced the element of corruption.” In addition to establishing budgetary independence for the nation’s judiciary, he said, the Granger government has pushed through whistleblower protections to prevent reprisals against officials spotlighting corruption.
The government has also created a natural resource fund, requiring the current and future governments to preserve a portion of oil profits annually and begun pushing a “green state development strategy” aimed at using oil boom profits to build infrastructure that harnesses wind, solar and hydro resources for Guyana’s own domestic energy needs. The goal, said Mr. Williams, is for Guyana to become like Norway — a major oil producer whose own people use “green power.”
But the transition promises to be tricky.
A recent New York Times report described the nation of about 800,000 as a “vast, watery wilderness with only three paved highways,” where “children in remote areas go to school in dugout canoes.” The answer, according to Mr. Williams, is basic: “Education.” The president “believes education makes the nation and that no child should be left behind,” the attorney general said, outlining a government initiative since inking Exxon contracts to promote what began as the “three B’s.”
Mr. Williams and other Guyanese officials are wary of the economic mismanagement and political corruption that grips neighbouring Venezuela after years of socialist governance funded by oil revenues. “We’re very concerned about what’s happening next door in terms of the meltdown,” Guyanese Ambassador to Washington Riyad Insanally told The Washington Times. “We have between 35,000 and 40,000 Venezuelans coming over [the border], and we are attending to their needs as a humanitarian gesture, … but they come in bringing severe security concerns.” (Washington Times) Link to Article
