The PPP is maintaining its view that the Deputy Speaker erred in preventing the Prime Minister from responding to a motion that called for the stoppage of work on the construction of the Berbice River bridge.
The PPP noted in a statement that Deputy Speaker Clarissa Riehl had criticized an earlier release by the party which had disagreed with her ruling preventing Prime Minister Sam Hinds from bringing an end to debate on a motion moved by PNCR-IG member James McAllister calling for the cessation of work on the construction of the bridge across the Berbice River.
“Certainly the Prime Minister had the right to invoke Standing Order #39 (2) (The Right to Reply) which states: ‘A Minister may conclude a debate on any motion which is critical of the government or reflects adversely on or is calculated to bring discredit upon the government officer,’ to explain government’s position,” the statement said.
In that light, the PPP said it viewed with surprise the remarks by the Deputy Speaker at the sitting of the National Assembly last Wednesday.
The party said that the Speaker in seeking to justify her ruling offered an interpretation of Standing Order #39. She said, the PPP noted, that she used her understanding of the rules of the English language in her interpretation of that Standing Order and felt that the motion, and not the ensuing debate, had to be critical of the government to invoke ministerial right to respond.
According to the ruling party, “that is a very narrow interpretation of that Standing Order. During the debate some opposition MPs imputed sinister motives to the government for putting the bridge at the present location among other wild accusations.”
The PPP release was issued on Wednesday night following the statement earlier in the day by Riehl during the sitting of Parliament.
