Attorney General announces mammoth legislative agenda for 2022

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall, S.C, has announced a massive, transformational legislative agenda that the PPP/C Government has set out for 2022.

He made the announcement during his presentation on the final day of the national budget debate, Friday.

Themed, ‘Steadfast against all challenges, resolute in building our One Guyana,’ this year’s budget of $552.9 billion contains a slew of measures to create wealth for all Guyanese and improve their livelihoods. This follows the $383.1 billion national budget in 2021.

“The aggregate budgeted sum of a mammoth $552 billion constitutes, by far, the largest financial injection, ever, in the Guyanese economy. I have said elsewhere, it is like injecting a racehorse with a huge dose of steroid before the race begins.

Without the gigantic spinoff benefits destined to flow therefrom, the mere expenditure of this massive sum will invigorate every corner of this nation with a level of commercial, economic, and social activity never witnessed before,” the Attorney General articulated on Friday.

As part of his year’s legislative agenda, Minister Nandlall outlined the following as the items on the itinerary:

1.         Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2021

2.         Hire-Purchase Bill

3.         Pipeline following: Juvenile Justice (Amendment) Bill

4.         Evidence (Amendment) Bill

5.         Suicide Prevention Bill

6.         Border Patrol Bill

7.         Wills (Amendment) Bill

8.         Restorative Justice Bill

9.         Combatting of Trafficking in Persons

10.       Bail Bill

11.        Condominium Bill

12.       Mental Health Services Bill

13.       Leave with Pay (Amendment) Bill

14.       Electronic Communications and Transactions Bill

15.       Anti-Dumping

16.       Engineers Bill

17.       Securities Bill

18.       Wales Development Authority Bill

19.       Public Service Appellate Tribunal (Amendment) Bill

20.      National Intelligence and Security Agency Bill

21.       Representation of the People Bill

22.       National Registration Bill

23.       Election Laws Bill

24.       Surveillance Devices Bill

25.       Arbitration Bill

26.       Hemp Bill

27.       Public Health Bill

28.      Medical Practitioners Bill

29.       Nurses and Midwives Bill

30.      Solid Waste Management Bill

31.       Foreign Judgments Bill

32.       Firearms Bill

33.       Domestic Violence Bill

34.       Radiation Safety and Protection Bill

35.       Legislative Amendments to relevant laws to allow for Judge-alone criminal trials

36.       Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Bill

37.       Safeguard Measures Bill

38.      Amendments to the Sexual Offences Act

In his presentation,  the Attorney General noted that many of these Bills have already been sent to the respective ministries for the ministers to review.

Additionally, Minister Nandlall said the recently established Law Reform Commission will move into gear in 2022.

“Last week I met with them, and they promised that within a month they will complete their work programme for the year 2022, their first full year in office. I have requested that they meet with certain important stakeholder organisations in our country and to receive recommendations for law reform. The work of this Commission will further augment the government’s legislative agenda,” the Attorney General said.

Friday is the final day of the Budget 2022 debates. Next week, the National Assembly will transition into the Committee of Supply to consider the budget estimates.