The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has made known its intention to implement several changes to the SARA Bill 2017, if the Party is reelected to office in 2020.
While noting that the Bill contained some good elements, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who was also the General Secretary of the PPP, said his Party would remove the ambiguity about private property.
Jagdeo told a media conference on Tuesday that the Head of the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA), Dr Clive Thomas, could not solely determine what was State property.
Further, the PPP intends to remove all the provisions that make the SARA Bill unconstitutional, Jagdeo said on Tuesday.
“So it might not be a total repeal, but making it constitutional and narrowing the definition of State property, so you don’t have a broad definition on that part,” he explained.
Jagdeo said his Party would also ensure that the head of the unit was accountable to someone else, as opposed to leaving it to have him to make his own decisions.
More importantly, however, the PPP plans to re-establish the Integrity Commission and provide it with the full powers to execute its mandate effectively and efficiently.
“Those are three elements that are going to be vital if we retain the law to make sure that we have clarity on those three elements,” the former President added.
The PPP will ensure that all public officials submit their statements to the Commission, Jagdeo said, and in cases where they do not, action will be taken against them.
Jagdeo lamented the fact that the current Administration did not submit statements to the Commission, but moved swiftly to pass the SARA Bill to recover stolen property.
“So, how can you shut down the Integrity Commission and then say you want to strengthen public accountability…You know what we did? We did not …we gave them a free pass. We did not take criminal action against them, which we should have done.”
The PPP had expressed concerns about this legislation setting the stage for the creation of a parallel justice system.
It argued that the Bill would create an environment that encouraged the violation of individuals’ constitutional rights and undermine the rule of law, since it has conferred on a sole individual – the Director of SARA – who currently is Professor Clive Thomas, powers that are 10 times greater than those of the Guyana Police Force.
According to the Opposition, the Bill would create a series of new offences, the SARA Director has been vested with unparalleled powers to investigate the newly-created offences, and persons could be rid of their properties without ever being charged with a crime.
Government used its one-seat majority to pass the SARA Bill in the National Assembly last Thursday.
However, the PPP and other groups plan to file legal proceedings to disallow the setting-up of this agency.
