Opposition Motion on Camp Street fire fails

Jan 11, 2018 News

Empty Opposition seats in the National Assembly yesterday

The Coalition Government last evening used its majority in the National Assembly to defeat a motion on the 2017 Camp Street fire brought by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), 17 of whose numbers were on a free trip to India.
Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, who has ministerial responsibility for prisons, urged his colleagues not to support the motion, which called for full disclosure of the events that led to the fire and the escape of eight inmates. One prison officer died during the ordeal.
“The Motion is not even worth the paper it is printed on,” Minister Ramjattan declared.
He assured that Government will make full disclosures to the public in due course. Ramjattan also stated that the government has shared information with the Private Sector Commission.
Twelve members of the opposition were in the House. The motion was submitted by Opposition Member, Juan Edghill, who has been suspended for four sittings by the National Assembly for disobeying the instructions of Speaker Dr. Barton Scotland on December 11.
In Edghill’s absence, Gail Teixeira, Opposition Chief Whip, tabled the motion at the Sitting which was mandated for ‘Opposition Business’. Teixeira stated that the Motion was submitted to the Parliament office two weeks after the fire occurred on July 7, 2017 and five months after the fire, the Motion was finally debated.
The motion wanted the National Assembly to call on the Government in accordance with Article 106(2) of the Guyana Constitution to accept collective responsibility to the House for the repeated events at the prisons of Guyana.
Accordingly, the Motion also sought to have the Government declare what actions have been and are being taken to reduce the opportunities for such situations from recurring and for the National Assembly to support the Disciplined Service in its efforts to ensure public safety, the protection of citizens and the recapture of all the escapees.
The Motion noted that the events of July 9, 2017, will go down in the history of Guyana as the day when the worst prison fire and jailbreak took place, destroying over 80% of the prison.
Government had promised to set up a Commission of Inquiry into the incident following the recapture of all the escapees. Two inmates remain at large.

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