Georgetown: The rearrangement of the National Assembly’s order paper by the Opposition at Thursday’s sitting, lead to the displacement of the Government’s Hydro-electric Power (Amendment) Bill 2013, and a motion looking to increase guarantee of loans from $1B to $150B, and bringing forward for debate four Local Government bills. The latter bills were eventually deemed ‘dropped bills’ by Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman.
Government took a stand against the Opposition’s bold move to undermine its right to bring to the House bills and motions in the order it deems fit. The bone of contention arose as a result of A Partnership for Unity’s member Basil Williams rising early in the sitting on a point of order to request, that the sitting’s order of business, and the order paper’s sequences be suspended. Williams wanted to allow for the debates of bills to commence with the House looking at the four Local Government bills; the Fiscal Management Bill; the Municipality and District Council (Amendment) Bill, the Local Government (Amendment) Bill and the Local Government Commission Bill in that order before proceeding with the general order of the sitting.
The motion was put to a vote after Speaker Trotman pointed out that under Standing Order 112, and Williams having given the requisite notice of his intent to move the motion.
But before the vote was taken, Government Chief Whip Gail Teixeira objected on the grounds that under the Standing Order, Government’s motions and bills can be set down on the order paper in a manner it deems fit.
Teixeira said that Williams, in moving the suspension order was attempting to take away the right of the Government to have matters on the agenda under Government business in the order in which they must come.
“This is unacceptable that the member would come and bring a suspension to distort, disrupt and violate the Government’s right to bring business in its order,” she said. The Government’s Chief Whip said that it is unheard of in any Parliament that the Government without its acquiescence is eroded in this manner.
She said the issue was not the Local Government Bills, but the matter that the Government business and the order in which it wishes to bring it to the House was being ‘undermined.’
The Speaker, however maintained that Standing Order 112 stands and as such a vote was taken and found to be in favour of the Opposition 32:31, but when it came to debating the first bill; the Fiscal Transfer Bill, the Government side and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Ganga Persaud who should have led the discussion remained silent, as a stand against the Opposition.
The Speaker determined that ‘it was difficult to interpret the silence’ and ‘on the basis that he cannot compel the Government side to move the second reading of the bill’ called a ten-minute recess to speak with the Leaders of the Opposition and Government and the Clerk.
Following the resumption, the Government side remained silent as each bill was called by their name by the Clerk for debate, and the Speaker declared “dropped bills” in view of the fact that ‘the Minister in whose custody and control the bills lies remain silent.’ It was explained that dropped bills are those that if no date or no motion is moved for the bill to be debated, it comes off the order paper until an indication is so given.
Teixeira then rose and said that the Government will be ready to debate the bills at a special sitting tomorrow.
The approval by the National Assembly of these four bills is critical to the completion of legislation for local government legislative reform which is essential for the holding of local government election which has not happened in Guyana since 1997.
The bills; Fiscal Transfer Bill 2012 and the Municipal and District Council (Amendment) Bill 2012 were first read in the National Assembly on August 9, 2012 in the National Assembly. The Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2012 and the Local Government Commission Bill was read on July 30, 2012.
Following their first reading, the bills were committed to a Special Select Committee chaired by Williams for consideration. That committee would have completed its work on the four bills on July 5 and presented to the National Assembly a report of each bill.
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