GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire Friday set June 14 to hear oral arguments and clarifications after the government and the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana (IDPADA-G) acknowledged that talks had broken down regarding the reinstatement of the monthly subvention to the organization.
IDPADA-G has been ordered to make its written submission on or before May 4, 2023, while the State – the defendant in the matter– is expected to file its request on May 25.
IDPADA-G had, earlier this year, gone to court challenging the government’s decision to withhold the disbursements because over GUY$500 million (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) disbursed so far had not reached a large number of African Guyanese.
The two sides, which have been at loggerheads over the issue of the subvention since August 2022, had initiated the process of mediation in February based on the instructions of the Chief Justice.
IDPADA-G attorney, Dr. Vivian Williams, told the court Friday that no agreement had been reached, adding, “the settlement talks have broken down irretrievably.”
The Chief Justice stopped him from explaining, saying, “That’s not the court’s business.
“When parties go to mediation, whether through the court mediation system or on their own, and they don’t settle, all you come back to the court and say, we didn’t settle,” she added.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall also confirmed that the negotiations had broken down, saying, “Your Honour, Mr. Williams has accurately reported to the court. Unfortunately, we have been unable to arrive at a compromise we intended to achieve by the mediation process”.
Given the circumstance, the State has already prepared its affidavit in defense. The parties have been blocked from discussing the issue in public.
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