Guyana News

Is the GHRA being singled out? asks McCormack

Co-President of the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), Mike McCormack, has penned a response to the Attorney General’s assertion (Stabroek News, March 21, page 8) that that the association has not been in Good Standing for nearly three decades and owes the Government of Guyana some $38 million, an allegation the GHRA says it “roundly rejects.” According to the letter, a copy of which was received by this newspaper yesterday and addressed to the Minister of Legal Affairs & Attorney General, “In view of the public manner in which this charge has been made in your name, it would be equally in the public interest for your response on the matter be given a similar level of publicity, particularly for the benefit of other organizations that may be vulnerable to comparable treatment.” The letter continues by asking, “What steps were taken by the Attorney General’s Chamber in 1991 or more recently to ensure that all of the companies and organizations on the original Companies Register were adequately informed of the changes they were required to make to remain compliant? This, it was pointed out, was particularly relevant given that Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) such as the GHRA were “forced” to register under the original Companies Act due to the absence of legal recognition of the concept of ‘non-profit’. It also informed that the registration of the GHRA was undertaken by the late Miles Fitzpatrick SC, and Ashton Chase SC. The writer noted that the first audited accounts of the association were for the year 1980 and the last for 2020, along with all forty years in between, and asks the following questions. “What steps has the AG’s Chambers taken to address the legion of organizations of every description functioning without audits of any description, including official bodies?” “Since the alleged breach was never raised during the 23 years the PPP were in office during 1992-2015 what factors prompted the current search that produced one single non-compliant organization?” And, “What steps has the Attorney General’s Chambers taken to legally recognize the category of non-profit organizations in order to put an end to the longstanding dysfunctionality.” McCormack pointed out that a fundamental requirement of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) states that “stakeholders, including but not limited to members of the multi-stakeholder group must be able to operate freely and express opinions about the EITI without restraint, coercion or reprisal”. (EITI Standard 1.3(e) iv). Thus concluding, “The current action against the GHRA smacks of ‘reprisal’ and dispelling such impressions requires convincing evidence that it is routine rather than targeted.”
Co-President of the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), Mike McCormack, has penned a response to the Attorney General’s assertion (Stabroek News, March 21, page 8) that that the association has not been in Good Standing for nearly three decades and owes the Government of Guyana some $38 million, an allegation the GHRA says it “roundly rejects.” According to the letter, a copy of which was received by this newspaper yesterday and addressed to the Minister of Legal Affairs & Attorney General, “In view of the public manner in which this charge has been made in your name, it would be equally in the public interest for your response on the matter be given a similar level of publicity, particularly for the benefit of other organizations that may be vulnerable to comparable treatment.” The letter continues by asking, “What steps were taken by the Attorney General’s Chamber in 1991 or more recently to ensure that all of the companies and organizations on the original Companies Register were adequately informed of the changes they were required to make to remain compliant? This, it was pointed out, was particularly relevant given that Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) such as the GHRA were “forced” to register under the original Companies Act due to the absence of legal recognition of the concept of ‘non-profit’. It also informed that the registration of the GHRA was undertaken by the late Miles Fitzpatrick SC, and Ashton Chase SC. The writer noted that the first audited accounts of the association were for the year 1980 and the last for 2020, along with all forty years in between, and asks the following questions. “What steps has the AG’s Chambers taken to address the legion of organizations of every description functioning without audits of any description, including official bodies?” “Since the alleged breach was never raised during the 23 years the PPP were in office during 1992-2015 what factors prompted the current search that produced one single non-compliant organization?” And, “What steps has the Attorney General’s Chambers taken to legally recognize the category of non-profit organizations in order to put an end to the longstanding dysfunctionality.” McCormack pointed out that a fundamental requirement of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) states that “stakeholders, including but not limited to members of the multi-stakeholder group must be able to operate freely and express opinions about the EITI without restraint, coercion or reprisal”. (EITI Standard 1.3(e) iv). Thus concluding, “The current action against the GHRA smacks of ‘reprisal’ and dispelling such impressions requires convincing evidence that it is routine rather than targeted.”
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Co-President of the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), Mike McCormack, has penned a response to the Attorney General’s assertion (Stabroek News, March 21, page 8) that that the association has not been in Good Standing for nearly three decades and owes the Government of Guyana some $38 million, an allegation the GHRA says it “roundly rejects.” 

According to the letter, a copy of which was received by this newspaper yesterday and addressed to the Minister of Legal Affairs & Attorney General, “In view of the public manner in which this charge has been made in your name, it would be equally in the public interest for your response on the matter be given a similar level of publicity, particularly for the benefit of other organizations that may be vulnerable to comparable treatment.”

The letter continues by asking, “What steps were taken by the Attorney General’s Chamber in 1991 or more recently to ensure that all of the companies and organizations on the original Companies Register were adequately informed of the changes they were required to make to remain compliant? This, it was pointed out, was particularly relevant given that Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) such as the GHRA were “forced” to register under the original Companies Act due to the absence of legal recognition of the concept of ‘non-profit’. It also informed that the registration of the GHRA was undertaken by the late Miles Fitzpatrick SC, and Ashton Chase SC.

The writer noted that the first audited accounts of the association were for the year 1980 and the last for 2020, along with all forty years in between, and asks the following questions.

“What steps has the AG’s Chambers taken to address the legion of organizations of every description functioning without audits of any description, including official bodies?” 

“Since the alleged breach was never raised during the 23 years the PPP were in office during 1992-2015 what factors prompted the current search that produced one single non-compliant organization?”

 And, “What steps has the Attorney General’s Chambers taken to legally recognize the category of non-profit organizations in order to put an end to the longstanding dysfunctionality.”  

 McCormack pointed out that a fundamental requirement of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) states that “stakeholders, including but not limited to members of the multi-stakeholder group must be able to operate freely and express opinions about the EITI without restraint, coercion or reprisal”. (EITI Standard 1.3(e) iv). Thus concluding, “The current action against the GHRA smacks of ‘reprisal’ and dispelling such impressions requires convincing evidence that it is routine rather than targeted.”   

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