Dear Editor,
Minister Ronald Bulkan should be the last person to speak about the enforcement of laws in Guyana and about giving effect to the intention of the framer of the Municipal and District Council Act Cap 28:01. This gentleman committed one of the most egregious assaults on the will of the electorate. It was the most vulgar abuse of the democratic process and the most flagrant violation of the Municipal and District Council Act in Guyana’s local government history since independence. This happened when he arrogantly and dictatorially handpicked the Mayor for the Mabaruma Town Council and the Chairpersons for five Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC) because of a tie, despite the fact that the law prescribes that a tie is to be broken by a vote of the electorate, voting at the last local government elections.
In true PNC style, Mr Bulkan was so anxious to please his political masters that he tossed aside the democratic process prescribed by the law and showed utter contempt for the will of the electorate. Minister Bulkan and his government, therefore, are being held accountable for the chaos created in these local government organs and the ensuing suffering of thousands of Guyanese, including their own supporters, who are unable to benefit from the services of these organs because of the illegal actions of Mr Bulkan. Minister Bulkan and his legal advisor, the Attorney General, Mr Basil Williams, must be the only persons on planet earth, who are of the view that a Mayor is an appointed official and not an elected official.
By his missive, Minister Bulkan again demonstrates his utter contempt for the rule of law, our judges and the judicial process. This approach has fully permeated the entire government, as demonstrated by the infamous exchange between the Attorney General, Basil Williams and High Court Judge, Justice Franklin Holder, for which the Attorney General refuses to apologise. Mr Bulkan, in his own little world, believes that that which was unlawful in 2016, if done in 2017, would suddenly become lawful by fluxion of time. Let him proceed to aggravate his contempt for and of the legal process. Every rope has an end.
Yours faithfully,
Mohabir Anil Nandlall, MP
