Latest update April 6th, 2025 11:06 AM
Latest News
- High Court bars GRA from seizing Team Mohamed’s luxury vehicles
- Oil spill will hit Guyana’s shores before capping stack arrives to plug leak
- UN says 100 children killed or injured in Gaza every day since war resumed
- Guyana received US$605M oil money in first quarter of 2025
- ‘Tariff war’ spells grave danger for the Region – CARICOM Chair Mottley
Three major Parliamentary Committees yet to meet under PPP regime – AFC
…Speaker allowing ‘serious transgressions’
Kaieteur News – “At a time when we face a rapidly developing oil and gas sector, one which is currently plagued by a lack of transparency in the publishing of Government contracts and feasibility studies, the Natural Resources Committee has never met. With our border dispute case in the International Court of Justice – the Foreign Relations Committee has never met. With rapidly increasing crime – a possible response to the high cost of living- the Security Sector Committee has never met.”
AFC Chairperson, Catherine Hughes
These concerns were highlighted by Chairperson of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Catherine Hughes, during a virtual Press Engagement on Friday.
In addition to those Committees, she also pointed out that the Economic Service Committee has been waiting since March to resume under a new chair after rotation.
The Party was keen to note that it has observed the fact that nearly a month after the National Assembly should have resumed after recess, finally, a sitting has been called for Monday November 7.
To this end, it said the work of the twelfth Parliament of Guyana is being hindered. At the same time, the AFC said it hopes there would be a greater commitment to managing the affairs of the Country when the National Assembly resumes.
Hughes told Reporters, “Despite the rancor that permeates the discussions of the House, there continues to be some unresolved deficiencies, and we lament that their mere existence suggests that the Speaker is unwilling to tackle these defects.”
For instance, the former Minister explained that the functioning of Parliamentary Committees is the foundation of facilitating scrutiny of all areas of Government policy and administration. “It is through these Committees that we can guarantee the opportunity for all sides of the House to participate, discuss issues of national importance, facilitate robust discussion, and most importantly strive to achieve consensus on national issues in the best interest of the Country,” she added.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir
Given this laudable expectation, the Party said it finds it “reprehensible and unacceptable” that several Parliamentary Sectoral Committees are comatose or have never seen the light of day more than two years later.
Furthermore, the Alliance For Change complained, “the fact that the Speaker has been too busy with his many various overseas trips to deal with these serious transgressions and get his real work done – is alarming and most unfortunate.”
While the Committees have not been meeting, the Opposition party also pointed out that the 12th Parliament holds the record in Guyana’s history for striking out and disallowing key Motions of high priority, such as the ones on high cost of living, massive flooding- resulting in loss of income and damage to property- and others.
Additionally, “Questions to the House continue to be butchered, not edited and often lack a timely response. All this is in addition to the infrequent sittings which indirectly silence debate on important issues, as for example, private members day –which occurs every fourth sitting when Opposition issues are examined, can take months now to come around,” Hughes noted.
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