Speaker says Rohee not being sanctioned

Nov 24, 2012 News

– Dismisses Attorney General’s comments as “froth”

Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee is not being sanctioned or disciplined by the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges, Speaker of the House Raphael Trotman said yesterday.
However, the ruling effectively makes it impossible for Rohee to bring new legislation to the House until the committee comes up with a decision.

Speaker Raphael Trotman at a press conference yesterday.

As far as Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, is concerned that is unconstitutional, but the Speaker is not flattered by that interpretation of his ruling.
“He (Nandlall) likes flair and language, but not much of it has substance,” said Trotman in response to the Attorney General.
“There is a lot of froth at the top like a beer, but I deal with the substance.”
Trotman reiterated that Parliament regulates its own procedures, but that if Nandlall feels that the ruling was unconstitutional, he can go to the constitutional court and get a ruling on that.
Trotman is standing by his ruling, and repeated an earlier suggestion that if any side of the three-party House loses confidence in him, he is prepared to hand in his resignation.
The Speaker feels that his decision to let a Committee of Privileges determine if the Minister’s privilege can be taken away, allows for the business of the National Assembly to continue rather than have it paralysed over Rohee.
With the government refusing to budge on the vote of no confidence against Minister Rohee, the opposition moved a step further Thursday by seeking to have the Minister barred from participation on the House.
Opposition Leader, David Granger, took a motion to the National Assembly stating that the National Assembly has the power to sanction a member and those powers should be invoked against Minister Rohee against whom the opposition-led National Assembly has voted “no confidence.”
After a lengthy debate which sometimes became raucous, the Speaker ruled that Standing Order 91 deals with matters which appear to affect the power or privileges of the Assembly and as such a Committee of Privileges would be best to determine if the Assembly has the power to restrict the privilege of any member.
Trotman said that whatever decision is reached would ultimately affect all members of the House. As such, Trotman believes that his decision was the best one.
“As Speaker I have a duty to ensure that our Parliamentary system and our Parliamentary democracy is not derailed, is not shattered, but is held together…,” Trotman stated.
The committee would be convened with the Speaker as Chairman along with five members from the opposition and four members from the government side of the House.
Minister Rohee is not expected to be called before the committee, and the Speaker clarified that Minister Rohee is not being sanctioned or disciplined by the Committee in “any way, shape or form.”