Construction of Magistrate’s Court at Golden Grove among projects for 2019

– to reduce the workload at the Providence Magistrate Court

– to serve expanding population in new housing areas on lower East Bank Demerara

– Courts also slated for construction in Bartica, Port Kaituma, Mahdia and Kwakwani

DPI, Guyana, Thursday, October 18, 2018

The construction of a Magistrate’s Court at Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara is among undertakings budgeted under a sum of $13.27BILLON fiscal spending, laid out for 2019 for the 16 Constitutional Agencies as contained in the Constitution of Guyana.

The construction of the court, which is valued at $93.664MILLION, comes under provisions being made available to the Supreme Court to fund its 2019 work programmes. The sod was turned to begin construction on March 12 of this year.

The new court will reduce the workload which is “continuously increasing and voluminous” at the Providence Magistrate Court, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan explained.

The current jurisdiction of the Providence Magistrate Court spans from the East by Soesdyke and Timehri, West by the village of Klein Poudreyen on the left Bank of the Demerara River, North by McDoom Village and South by the Hauraruni River. The new Golden Grove Magistrate’s Court also takes into consideration the expanding population in the new housing areas on the lower East Bank Demerara.

Also, budgeted for 2019 is the construction of several Magistrate’s Courts across the country.

At Bartica, Region Seven, a $148.181M Magistrate’s Court and Living Quarters will provide access to justice to approximately 15,000 residents in Region Seven, especially those in the remote areas/villages and importantly, release them from having to travel to Essequibo to file and hear their matters.

The building will also provide a more conducive working environment for the Supreme Courts staff, lawyers and litigants using the service of the courts.

$140.385M has been allocated for a court at Mahdia, Region Eight. This court will benefit 4,000 persons. This figure includes residents of the nearby Indigenous village of Campbelltown. According to the information tabled by Minister Jordan, the court is currently held in a 10 ft x 12 ft section of the Mahdia Police Station. This is inadequate since prisoners are no further than five feet from the Magistrate and Clerk. The area also requires proper lighting, cooling, washrooms and seating accommodation.

The tabled document also states that there is presently no courthouse at Port Kaituma, Region One and that court is normally kept at a building identified by the region. Some $268.149M has been allocated for the building of a Court will see justice handed down for approximately 800 residents living in the community and 18,000 more persons living in the region mainly Indigenous villages.

The document also outlined the decision to retrofit an old building to a Magistrate’s Court and Living Quarters in Kwakwani, Region 10. Costing, $32.909M, the court will see justice dispensed to the furthest reaches in Guyana. Kwakwani is a mining and logging community on the Berbice River in the Upper Demerara-Berbice Region. Kwakwani is approximately 100km South of Linden with a population of approximately 7,000 persons.

Synieka Thorne.

Image: Jameel Mohamed.