8 suspended MPs to lose pay, access to Parliament

Jul 27, 2022 News

Suspended, APNU+AFC MP, Ganesh Mahipaul.

Suspended, APNU+AFC MP, Sherod Duncan

Kaieteur News – The eight parliamentarians, who were suspended from the National Assembly last week, will as a result be losing a portion of their salaries and access to parliamentary facilities, Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs confirmed on Tuesday.

According to the Clerk, the eight suspended Members of Parliament (MPs) would each lose four to six days pay each month and they would not be allowed within the precincts of the Parliament Building or Chamber, use of the library or participation in committee meetings.

Suspended, APNU+AFC MP, Tabitha Sarrabo-Halley

Suspended, APNU+AFC MP, Vinceroy Jordan

The eight APNU+AFC parliamentarians were officially suspended from the National Assembly for a list of parliamentary infractions. They were suspended after a majority vote of the House in the wee hours of the morning, last Friday.

The Motion to suspend the MPs was tabled as a result of a decision made at the level of the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges following the ruckus which was caused in the House on December 29, 2021, during the passage of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) law.

Following deliberations of the committee, it was recommended that the Opposition MPs: Sherod Duncan, Christopher Jones, Ganesh Mahipaul, Viceroy Jordan, Annette Ferguson, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Maureen A. Philadelphia, and Tabitha Sarrabo-Halley be suspended from attending several consecutive sittings of the House.

On Friday morning, the Motion for the House to adopt the recommendations was tabled by Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira.

In her presentation of the Motion, Teixeira noted that the decision taken by the Committee of Privileges was one that is necessary for the maintenance of order and discipline of the House. She noted the chaos and disruption that ensued on the night of December 29, 2021, cannot be overlooked and those liable for the disturbance must be sanctioned.

Suspended, APNU+AFC MP, Annette Ferguson

Suspended, APNU+AFC Opposition Chief Whip: Christopher Jones

The Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs asserted, “What occurred on the 29th of December will go down in the history of our parliament as one of the worst images and reflections of integrity and behaviour of our elected officials in the National Assembly.”

The Motion adopted by the National Assembly comes weeks after the Committee of Privileges released a report recommending the suspension of the eight MPs.

Suspended, APNU+AFC MP, Maureen A. Philadelphia

Suspended, APNU+AFC MP, Natasha Singh-Lewis

Based on the report, MPs Annette Ferguson, Maureen A. Philadelphia and Vinceroy Jordan would be suspended for six consecutive sittings for committing serious violations which were severe and egregious by unauthorisedly removing the Parliamentary Mace from its rightful position in a disorderly fashion, causing damage to the Mace, injuring and assaulting a staff of the Parliament Office, while attempting to remove the Mace from the Chamber.

Tabitha Sarrabo-Halley, it was revealed, would be suspended for six consecutive sittings for unauthorisedly entering the communication control room of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre and destroying several pieces of audio-visual equipment, being public property.

The report recommended further that Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, and Ganesh Mahipaul would be suspended from four consecutive sittings for conducting themselves in a gross disorderly, disrespectful manner, and repeatedly ignoring the authority of the Assembly and that of the Speaker, and thereby committing contempt and breaches of privileges.

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