Georgetown: The APNU+AFC Opposition said it has submitted a motion of no-confidence against the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir and also one for Government MPs to be sanctioned.
The motions were filed following news that opposition MPs, who tried to disrupt the last sitting of the House will be sanctioned.
In a statement issued Sunday evening, the opposition said it has taken note of an online article published by INews on Friday, the 21st January 2022 headed – “Opposition MPs likely to be disciplined for attack on mace on Monday; police could get involved”, according to the Hon. Gail Teixeira.
According to the opposition, the Members of the Parliamentary Opposition from the APNU+AFC determined on December 29, 2021 that they were the last line of defence against an authoritarian regime who were salivating about the idea of having complete control of the revenue from our oil resources that is the patrimony of all Guyanese. It said after witnessing the decision by the Speaker not to allow a petition by Guyanese citizens requesting that the consideration of the Natural Resource Fund Bill be paused to allow for greater consultation and the statements made by the Article 13 group, the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce, the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) and African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) among others who agitated in various ways that, “any change to the existing Natural Resource Fund Act 2019 “must be fully ventilated in the public domain with public consultations across Guyana seeking the input of all Guyanese” the MPs had to take a stand.
It cited too as reason for their protest in the House, the numerous letters to the editor of newspapers in Guyana requesting more consultation on the Bill and concerns about the obvious rush in passing of it and the rejection of a request made by the Chief Whip of the Opposition, Mr. Christopher Jones, to have the Bill sent to a Special Select Committee to ensure wide consultation on the repealing of the Natural Resource Fund Act, 16 of 2019.
“The Peoples representatives in the opposition were determined to defend the patrimony of the Guyanese people. However, anyone who was in the National Assembly on the night of December 29, 2021 or looking on via the livestream could determine that the Speaker was not in control of the Assembly as most Members of Parliament both Government and Opposition were not in their seats during the debate. The APNU+AFC Coalition wishes to remind the Speaker, the PPPC Regime and Guyanese generally that the Natural Resource Fund Bill, no. 20 of 2021 was not successfully passed. Further, we maintain that the mace, which was used in place of the original one, was a replica. We also maintain that at the time of members casting their votes, many members on the Government side were not in their seats. They were standing! Hon. Mark Phillips, the country’s Prime Minister and head of government’s business was not seated when the voting took place, video evidence shows him pumping his fist way above his head at this said time.”
According to the opposition, the actions by numerous Government Members of Parliament as caught on camera on December 29, 2021 would require any impartial Speaker to discipline also the Members of the government whose behaviour were deemed to be unparliamentarily. “That the Honourable Gail Teixeira would go to the media days before a sitting of the National Assembly to inform the public that it is the intention of the PPP to sanction Opposition Members of Parliament further highlight the APNU+AFC’s position that the Speaker of the National Assembly is not in control of Parliament and that Gail Teixeira as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs is speaking on matters that should be in the full remit of the Speaker of the National Assembly. We must also mention that any decision to sanction Members of the Opposition at this time must be seen for what it truly is, a way to stifle the voices of the people debating and questioning the 2022 Budget.” “The APNU+AFC has therefore today sent to the Clerk of the National Assembly two motions. The first motion indicating our Loss of Confidence in Mr. Manzoor Nadir as Speaker of the National Assembly and the second requesting that Members on the Government benches of the House of the National Assembly be sanctioned for their unparliamentary conduct in the Assembly during the debate on the Natural Resource Fund Bill on the 29th Dec 2021,” the statement concluded.
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