“Thanks to the democratic revolution of 1992, we have a legal aid system,” former director of the Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic Miles Fitzpatrick said at the recent launch of the ‘Guyana Legal Aid Clinic’ in Berbice.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release Fitzpatrick, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya Manickchand and Region Six Chairman Zulfikar Mustapha addressed an audience at the Regional Democratic Council Compound in New Amsterdam for the opening.
Fitzpatrick said that years ago, legal aid clinics “did not have the support of the government of the day.” He continued that the PNC government “was extremely sensitive about this institution that was started by independent lawyers” and had claimed at the time that no third world country could finance the legal aid system. However, he said, “You do the best with what you have. If your resources are small, you start small and you help as many people as you can in the best way that you can….”
Meanwhile Manickchand said in 2006 the current administration had committed to expanding legal services throughout the country. “I’m happy to say that we have legal aid service in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten,” she said, adding that the only role the administration plays in the legal system is to provide funding and ensure that the services are provided to everyone. The minister said too, “Legal aid is supposed to give you a doorway into the court system and that is why we are very keen on ensuring that legal aid is accessible,” throughout the country.
In addition, Mustapha said over the years the lives of poor and vulnerable persons have improved significantly with the services provided by the ministry. Residents also expressed gratitude for the service, recalling that legal aid services were first offered from 1974 to 1983 but thereafter had ceased. The Georgetown clinic opened in 1994.
