The National Assembly will on Thursday consider a motion submitted by Leader of the Opposition Robert Corbin to condemn the Lusignan massacre.
Corbin, also the PNCR leader, had made a motion request in a letter dated February 2, to Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran. He said in the letter that public interest demanded that the highest deliberative and decision-making forum in the land meet as a matter of urgency to discuss the situation and to adopt the motion he has put forward to the Parliament office for approval.
The motion put forward by Corbin is calling on the National Assembly to extend deepest and sincerest sympathy to the families of the 11 murdered in Lusignan on January 26, and the corporal of the Guyana Defence Force, who was gunned down a day before in Buxton.
The motion is also urging the National Assembly to call on the government to implement a definite plan of action to arrest the downward spiral of the country’s security.
Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs told Stabroek News yesterday that the motion has not been mentioned on the Order Paper informing of the sitting of the National Assembly on February 14. He said the motion would be tabled under the heading ‘Request for leave to move the adjournment of the Assembly on definite matters of urgent public importance’ and would not be treated as a paper motion owing to its urgency. As such, it would not go through the normal procedure. Once approved in the National Assembly by the Speaker, the debate on the motion would then be moved to 4 pm.
The last sitting of the National Assembly was adjourned on January 3, 2008 on a motion by Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee to a date to be fixed.
On Tuesday, Ramkarran told the Stabroek News that he had given Corbin the assurance that he would confer with the government to see whether a date had been set for its parliamentary agenda, failing which he would summon a sitting of the National Assembly to discuss the motion.
Corbin said that in the present circumstance, “We believe the exercise of your discretion under Standing Order 8(2) to bring about a meeting would be most appropriate.”
Noting the requirements of the relevant Standing Order for exemption for notice will have to be observed, Corbin said he hoped the motion would be debated and approved at the next sitting.
Matters listed for the Valentine’s Day sitting include the introduction of two bills – the Income tax (Amendment) Bill 2008 by the government, and the Guyana Presbyterian Church Act 1974 (Amendment Bill) 2007 as a private member’s bill.
Three other motions are to be dealt with at the same sitting. The first, submitted by AFC MP Raphael Trotman calls on the National Assembly to establish a Special Select Committee to enquire into and to investigate the services being provided by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and to make recommendations for its improvement.
The motion asks that the committee be permitted to receive evidence from members of the public and organisations, including consumers, the Public Utilities Commission, the private sector and civil society organisations working with affected groups; that the committee report to the National Assembly within three months and that it communicates the findings and recommendations to GPL for adoption.
The second motion, to be moved by PNCR-1G MP Debbie Backer, calls on the government to establish an independent, permanent Law Reform Commission, to among other things, review continuously, all the laws of Guyana, with a view to their systematic development and reform; and to receive and consider suggestions for the reform of the law which may be forwarded by government ministers, public officials, associations of lawyers and members of the public.
The third motion to be moved by PNCR-1G MP Winston Murray deals with the limit on the aggregate amount of debt obligations.
