Parliament gears to resume work on critical issues

Oct 01, 2014 News

By Kiana Wilburg
Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman expressed during a press conference yesterday that the Parliament

House Speaker,
Raphael Trotman

office is ready and rearing to resume the business of the National Assembly. However, there is a full agenda of critical issues still to be addressed.
According to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, the debate of the No Confidence Motion may not be the first hot topic to be attended to. In fact, it is possible that it can take a while for this debate to occur.
Trotman said that the annual recess runs for the period August 10 to October 10. This year, there appeared to be a much longer recess period because the House last met on July 10. Nonetheless, he noted that the Parliament Office is in preparation mode as the Assembly still has to address a number of important matters. These include the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill, the Telecommunications and Public Utilities Commission Bills, Education Bill, Customs Amendment Bill, the Wildlife Import and Export Bill, and the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill.
Trotman said these matters remain extant and are to be addressed when Parliament resumes.
The House Speaker said that he expects that new questions, motions and bills will also be added to the Order Paper before the resumption.
On the last business day before the recess commenced, August 8, a Motion, commonly referred to as a “No Confidence Motion”, was submitted for debate in the names of Alliance For Change members, Moses Nagamootoo and Cathy Hughes. After receiving the benefit of advice and extensive research, Trotman said that he concluded that the Motion, extraordinary as it is, does qualify for debate, as it meets the internationally acceptable standard for a motion of this nature.
Trotman told members of the media that in conducting research on the Motion, reference was made to the procedures in other CARICOM member states such as Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, along with Commonwealth members such as the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Australia, and New Zealand. He said that they all support the opinion that the Motion is in the proper form.
“Procedurally, this Motion is no different to any other motion that is submitted, approved and debated by the National Assembly. As such, the Clerk will place it on the Order Paper for debate in keeping with Standing Order 14 (1) which states that the “Clerk of the Assembly shall prepare an Order Paper for each sitting of the Assembly showing the business before the National Assembly…”. Thereafter, the mover of the Motion will indicate if and when the member is prepared to proceed with the debate,” the Speaker added.
Because of the unprecedented nature of this Motion, Trotman said that he has taken the liberty of communicating with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Dr. William Shija, to alert him that the National Assembly may require guidance and support on the interpretation and application of the Motion. He has also contacted his counterparts in the Caribbean informing them that their guidance may also be sought if becomes necessary.