Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall SC said yesterday that the Government is prepared to defend its decision to allow Auditor General Deodat Sharma to remain in office despite questions over his continued tenure beyond the statutory retirement age.
Nandlall acknowledged that legal action has been threatened over Sharma’s continued occupation of the office, but said the Government remains confident that its position is legally sound.
“I understand that they have written and have threatened legal action. Whatever actions are filed will be defended,” Nandlall told Kiskadee Watch on the sidelines of a sod-turning ceremony for a new law school at the University of Guyana campus, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown.
He said that the Government would not have taken the decision to allow Sharma to remain in office if it was not satisfied that the decision was legally defensible. “The government would not have made such a decision if it did not believe in the legal correctness of it,” he stated.
Former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran, through attorney Christopher Ram, has formally challenged Sharma’s continued tenure. Ram has asked the Attorney General to explain the constitutional and legal basis for Sharma remaining in office and whether any extension, reappointment or other authorisation was granted. He has indicated that judicial review proceedings could be filed if the Government does not provide a satisfactory explanation.
Public Accounts Committee Chairman Vishnu Panday has also questioned Sharma’s continued tenure, saying there appears to be no provision allowing him to remain beyond the prescribed retirement age. Panday also raised concerns about the additional cost to taxpayers and questioned what happened to the succession plan for the Auditor General’s Office.
If the matter reaches court, Goolsarran could seek declarations that Sharma vacated the office upon reaching 68, that the position is vacant, and an injunction preventing Sharma from continuing to act as Auditor General. He could alternatively seek to have any purported extension of Sharma’s tenure quashed.
Nandlall and Sharma have been identified as potential respondents.
Last Wednesday, A Partnership for National Unity Member of Parliament Terrence Campbell questioned the independence of Sharma and called for him to be replaced, alleging that he has become “a little too close” to the PPP government. Campbell also raised concerns about the internal management of the Auditor General’s Office, including the reported role of the Deputy Auditor General, who is the wife of Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, and said this could create a conflict of interest given the office’s responsibility for auditing government finances.
Campbell further alleged that some matters may be overlooked or reports “tweaked” within the office, questioning whether major projects such as the Gas-to-Energy project have received adequate scrutiny. He noted that Sharma, having reached the statutory retirement age of 68 in March 2026, should leave office and make way for a successor.
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