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Govt. seeks Dec. 20 sitting of Parliament
Even as Government continues to lambast the parliamentary opposition for delaying the business of the government, efforts are being made to have parliament adjourn to Thursday.
Gail Teixeira
With tomorrow’s parliamentary sitting being designated the Opposition day, Chief Whip of the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic, Gail Teixeira, is hopeful that Government will be able to actually get some business done in the National Assembly.
Teixeira, who was at the time speaking at the most recent post Cabinet press briefing on Friday at Office of the President, said that Government’s parliamentary concerns have been brought to the attention of the Speaker of the House, Raphael Trotman, and the opposition. They were also raised at various meetings of parliamentary committees last week.
“We have said to the Speaker and to the opposition that we will be calling for a sitting on December 20 and we have made it clear that we have a lot of items on the Order Paper that are just sitting there.”
According to Teixeira, “We did make an attempt to try to get the sitting to allow the Government’s business that has been sitting there for three sittings now, October 22, November 8 and November 22, to be given preference. This was not accepted and opposition Chief Whip Amna Ally has insisted that December 17 is their day,” Teixeira vocalised.
The Chief Whip accentuated her conviction that whether a Government is classified as a minority or majority, it must have the right to bring its business to the House and have that business addressed.
She expressed optimism, too, that the opposition will not seek to use its one-seat majority to vote against Government’s desire for the adjournment to Thursday. “…They have done it before. If that happens then I think we are in very serious waters because it means that they are obstructing the Government from doing its business,” Teixeira said.
She alluded to the fact that there are a number of upcoming opposition Bills, among them one she described as “strange”, which will see A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) point man on finance, Carl Greenidge, seeking to raise concern with the President’s benefits and facilities Act of 2009.
Government, according to Teixeira, is of the view and has stated since October that Greenidge’s move towards such a Bill seems to indicate that he is trying to pre-empt the work of the Special Select Committee.
A resolution was passed in the House by a majority to have a Special Select Committee examine the issue of the constitutional post holders, including the president and their benefits.
Teixeira speculated that a number of things are likely to happen at tomorrow’s sitting, even as she expressed hope that “it will not descend further and there will be a further subversion of parliamentary democracy.”
Government is expected to table supplementary financial papers for first reading tomorrow. And should parliament be adjourned to Thursday, Teixeira revealed that Government will seek to proceed to deal with seven Bills among them the supplementary financial papers, and a motion on the 40th Anniversary of the Guyana/Cuba diplomatic relations.
This move, according to Teixeira, is aimed at having the National Assembly acknowledge and celebrate the long and fruitful relations Guyana has had with Cuba and “to express our gratitude as a people to the Cuba Government and people for the amazing and extensive support it has given to Guyana.”
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