Caribbean News Desk radio programme: Guyana’s opposition wants High Court to stop unauthorised govt spending

Last Updated on Friday, 12 December 2014, 21:49 by GxMedia

Guyana’s Opposition Leader, David Granger has moved to the High Court to stop what he regards as the unauthorized spending of monies from the Treasury on projects and programmes that have not been approved by the House.

Granger’s A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (AFC) that together control the National Assembly had voted down the Guyana equivalent of US$174 million in projects and programmes.

However, the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration went ahead and spent more than US$21 million on many of those projects and programmes items that have not been approved and then took a Statement of Excesses to the House for passage.

That Statement of Excesses has not been passed because it did not come up for debate, the House did not meet and now Parliament has been suspended and would early next year be dissolved to make way for early general elections.

It is widely believed that government continues to spend monies on those unapproved areas without any parliamentary oversight.

In court documents seen by Caribbean News Desk, Opposition Leader Granger says that government ministers cannot spend monies that have not been approved or authorized by the National Assembly because it will be unconstitutional and is against the Separation of Powers between the Executive and the Legislature.

Contending that his case raises fundamental issues of governance in a democratic state, Mr Granger wants the High Court to grant a conservatory order to halt all spending or any further spending on those programmes that have been disapproved or unauthorized by the National Assembly until a hearing and determination of the main case.

The Opposition Leader’s move to the High Court comes against the background of claims that government is using money from the Treasury to campaign for the next elections.

LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD FRIDAY’S PROGRAMME HERE {mp3remote}https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/143143643/caribnewsdesk/caribnews_dec12_2014.MP3{/mp3remote}

IN TODAY’S PROGRAMME, WE REPORT ON THE FOLLOWING:

In Dominca, angry opposition supporters protest outside Electoral Office loss of one seat to the ruling Labour Party

Guyana’s opposition wants the High Court to stop government from spending money on items that have been unapproved or unauthorized

Antigua and Barbuda to support Canada’s resolution on Iran for the first time in several years

The United Nations has approved International Yoga Day

Trinidad and Tobago’s Citrus Growers to expand operations in Guyana

Cuba will be attending the next Summit of the Americas

A Caribbean airline begins flying to Haiti and the Domincan Republic