Ram asks court to block gov’t contracts over $15M
Attorney and accountant Christopher Ram has initiated legal proceedings to prevent the payments on government contracts awarded after the successful December 21st vote on the no-confidence motion against the APNU+AFC administration.
Through an urgent fixed date application made with notice, Ram is seeking, among other things, a declaration by the High Court that in keeping with the ruling of acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, no Cabinet exists to review any contract over $15 million. As a result, he has also sought an order restraining Permanent Secretaries within all government ministries from making any payment towards any contract in excess of $15 million that was approved by “a purported Cabinet” after the evening of December 21st, 2018.
The Attorney General and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Presidency are identified as the respondents in the action, which was filed on Ram’s behalf by attorneys who include Anil Nandlall. A date for a hearing is to be fixed on Monday.
According to the application, the basis for the action is the finding by the Chief Justice January 31st, 2019, in the case of Ram vs The Attorney General and The Leader of the Opposition, that the National Assembly validly and lawfully passed a motion on a vote of no-confidence provided for by Article 106 (6) of the Constitution, in which the government was defeated and that the resignation of the Cabinet took immediate effect on the success of a no confidence motion. It further noted that the Chief Justice on the same day in the case of AG v Dr Barton Scotland, Speaker of the National Assembly & Others, ruled that the ruling of the Speaker of the National Assembly that the motion of no-confidence was carried by a vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly was lawful and valid and that the motion of noconfidence upon a division vote of 33 to 32 Members of the National Assembly was validly passed as the requisite majority was obtained.
As a result, the application says that pursuant to Article 106 (6) and the judgement of the Chief Justice, the then Cabinet ceased to exist upon the passage of the motion and the President and the Ministers who constitute the Cabinet were compelled to resign their functions in Cabinet but retain their office until elections are held. It further contends that all procurements (contracts) in excess of $15 million cannot be approved in the interim and that any such procurement (contract) that has been approved by a purported Cabinet after the evening of December 21st, 2018, is unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and is of no legal effect.
Section 54 (1) of the Procurement Act stipulates that “the Cabinet shall have the right to review all procurements the value of which exceeds fifteen million Guyana dollars.”
Ram’s application seeks a declaration that with effect from the evening of December 21st, 2018, all functions or duties provided in any law to be performed specifically by Cabinet have ceased from that time by virtue of Article 106 (6); a declaration that all government procurements (contracts) in excess of $15 million requires Cabinet’s review and approval pursuant to Section 54(1) of the Procurement Act; a declaration that, by virtue of Article 106 (6) and the decision of the Chief Justice, there exists no Cabinet to review or award any contract which exceeds $15 million and a declaration that any procurement (contract) in excess of $15 million approved by a purported Cabinet after the evening of December 21st, 2018, is unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and is of no legal effect.
The application also seeks an Order restraining Permanent Secretaries within all government ministries from making any payment towards any such procurements (contracts) approved by a purported Cabinet after the evening of December 21st, 2018.