Dear Editor,
In response to two articles that have appeared recently in the daily newspapers, the Guyana Legal Aid Clinic writes to clarify the scope and locations of legal aid services provided by it.
The first, in Stabroek News of 2 August 2020 – https://www.stabroeknews.com/2020/08/02/news/guyana/access-to-legal-aid-woefully-inadequate-in-guyana/ – gave the impression that the clinic’s criminal legal aid services are only available to persons charged with murder. This is far from the case. Whereas the law provides that only persons charged with a capital offence may be provided with a lawyer by the State if they cannot afford one, the clinic (NB Guyana Legal Aid Clinic and not Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic) provides legal advice and representation in all criminal matters to adults who qualify for legal aid and automatically to all children (persons under 18).
The second, in the Guyana Chronicle of 11 August 2020 -https://guyanachronicle.com/2020/08/11/idb-criminal-justice-programme-to-be-reviewed/ – reported new Attorney-General Anil Nandlall as saying that legal aid should not be confined to Georgetown. The Guyana Legal Aid Clinic has offices in New Amsterdam (which also serves Fort Wellington) and Anna Regina in addition to Georgetown, and the Linden Legal Aid Centre provides legal advice and representation in Region 10.
We recognise the urgent need to make legal aid accessible throughout Guyana, but pending the substantial funding that would be required to establish clinics in other towns and villages, anyone unable to visit the clinic can:
1. Call, text or WhatsApp us on 664-4126 (Digicel) Georgetown office, 665-1396 (Digicel) Anna Regina office, or 664-5838 (Digicel) New Amsterdam office.
2. Call or text us on 623-5586 (GT&T) or 600-3971 (Digicel) Georgetown office, 600-4123 (Digicel) Anna Regina office, or 600-4122 (Digicel) New Amsterdam office.
3. Send us a message on our Facebook page.
4. Send an email to legalaid@networksgy.com.
The clinic reopened on 4 May with comprehensive COVID-19 prevention systems in place to protect the wellbeing of clients and staff and is currently open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9am to midday.
Yours faithfully,
Josephine Whitehead
Director/Secretary
Guyana Legal Aid Clinic
