Parliament comes out of recess on October 10

Parliament comes out of recess on October 10 – Jordan

Aug 15, 2019 News

The National Assembly has not met for quite some time. It has been in recess.

Parliament of Guyana

According to Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, it will be coming out of recess on October 10, 2019. During a press conference yesterday, the Minister made the announcement.
However, he was keen to note that this doesn’t mean Parliament will “meet”.
“Given the interim status of the Government, we are not meeting in Parliament. That’s what I’m saying.” Jordan added.
For that to happen, the two parties – the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition – would have to agree to go there for a specific purpose, said the Minister. This is because of the interim status of the Government.
President David Granger had announced that out of respect for the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the December 21, 2018 No Confidence Motion, Government would take several steps to limit its functions until the holding of General and Regional Elections.
If the two sides don’t make that decision, Jordan said that the National Assembly will not meet.
“That is why I say I’m not sure when Parliament will be meeting again. But Parliament comes out of recess on October 10, unless dissolved earlier.”
The dissolution of Parliament is a request that was made by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.
The President had responded, saying that the dissolution of Parliament would rest on the readiness of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to hold elections.
Only then would the President dissolve the National Assembly.
But there are several pressing matters which will need attention from the legislative body in the months to come. A budget is usually passed at the end of the year. Minister Jordan said that Government will not go to Parliament due to its interim status, but budget preparations are still being made.
If the budget isn’t passed, there are provisions for spending to be done for a period.
“Once the budget expires at December 31,” Jordan said, “until the next budget is presented… you are limited to 1/12 of the previous year’s provision” for current expenses.
For capital expenses, there is no provision. Jordan said that there will be no new projects if the budget is not passed.
“Only those projects that are rollovers and ongoing, you can continue with, but you cannot do new projects. That’s the rule.”
He also said, “Come January, people will be paid their salaries and so on. But you will not be able to do a lot because it is just routine things.”
Otherwise, there are several Bills expected to be proposed if Parliament reconvenes, including the Bill No. 10 of 2019, the Adoption of Children (Amendment) Bill 2019; and Bill No. 11 of 2019, the Restorative Justice Bill 2019.
There is also a likelihood of a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Control (Amendment) Bill being proposed, as Government has proposed a removal of custodial sentences for the possession of small quantities of marijuana.