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APNU exploring all possibilities including No Confidence motion – Harmon
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will be meeting with the Alliance for Change (AFC), today, to discuss the outcome
APNU Executive
Joseph Harmon
of bringing a motion of no confidence against the government.
This is according to APNU Executive and Shadow Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Joseph Harmon.
He said that the coalition held a Shadow Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss the no confidence motion among other things.
He added that APNU has a range of options with the no confidence being one of them. “Some of them have to do with how we would respond to the Finance Minister’s spending of the monies which we disapproved by the National Assembly.”
According to Harmon, APNU has discussed a range of options but has not concluded those discussions as yet. “We have not arrived at a definitive position but we are exploring all of these possibilities.”
He said that his party is going to meet with AFC “to further the idea of a no confidence motion. We will explore with them what is it they have in mind because if you are going to move a no confidence motion you will have to determine what the outcome would be.
“We will also share with them some of our own ideas as to what they think we need to do in the National Assembly when that matter comes up next week.”
The AFC, through its Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo, had expressed the intention of bringing such a motion since the government had developed a total disregard for accountability.
One example to support this, he said, was that government had already spent $4.5 Billion of the $37.4 Billion which had been cut by the political opposition from the $220 Billion Budget of 2014.
The Finance Minister has since said that he has the right to do so under the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMAA) Act which the combined opposition has since rubbished citing that the Minister’s actions were indeed “insulting” and “illegal” because the Act that he was referring to, has to do with the contingency fund which deals with situations of emergencies and unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters.
Nagamootoo said that “The Appropriation Bill [Budget] was passed with certain reductions; the government had to agree
AFC Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo
to those reductions, i.e. to take away those items not approved.
“To ignore the fact that these items were there before and bringing them as if these are sudden unplanned emergencies, we believe is unacceptable.”
President Donald Ramotar has since come out supporting his Minister stating that the government has the power to spend the money under article 218 of the Constitution.
However, leader of the AFC Khemraj Ramjattan said, “218 is saying that you have to come with a supplementary estimate. Assuming now that we do not support those things, we would’ve had spendings that are without authorization and the rule of law is that under article 217 of the constitution, no monies shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except by way of an Act called the Appropriation Act.”
According to Ramjattan, “They are misconstruing the constitution and throwing things in our eyes… They never had any legislative authorization; it was never appropriated and yet the government went ahead and spent. So what is it saying there? It’s illegal and people must understand that.”
Ramjattan said that his party will be brining the no confidence motion in the National Assembly against the government. He asserts that support will be had from the APNU, since most of the persons he spoke to have expressed interest in bringing a motion of no confidence against the government of the day.
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