A government motion seeking the suspension of the Parliamentary recess to “complete important business” was passed in the National Assembly this evening without the support of the PNC and the AFC. The PPP used its majority to approve the motion.
At a media briefing earlier today, PNCR leader, Robert Corbin said that the party will not participate in any sessions of the National Assembly after the mandated recess period begins. “The parliamentary recess starts on the 10th of August as the Standing Order said and that is the last day we are prepared to go to Parliament to discuss any matter unless there is a national emergency or something of extreme national importance,” he said. The Parliamentary recess is scheduled for the 10th August – 10th October.
Reading from a prepared statement at Congress Place, Corbin branded the move “high-handed” and “dictatorial.” He deemed it an attempt to manipulate the National Assembly and the party will not stand for this. He said that two days ago the PNCR learnt of the proposal to postpone the Parliamentary recess from 10th August to late September 2011 as the PPP said that they have some “urgent bills” to present to the National Assembly.
“The PNCR is unaware of the nature of these `urgent bills’, since the PPP has adamantly refused, over the past five years, to present their Parliamentary Legislative Agenda to the Parliamentary Management Committee,” Corbin said. “The functions of the Parliamentary Management Committee have been subverted by the operatives of the Office of the President with the consequence that the Government has been treating the National Assembly as if it is a department of the Office of the President,” he declared.
“The National Assembly is now being summoned with this belated request by the PPP to have `urgent legislation’ passed. It is, therefore, an affront to the National Assembly and the Standing Committees and Select Committees appointed by it, for the PPP to brazenly come to the National Assembly and move a Motion for the suspension of the Standing Order No. 9, to alter the recess period,” he added.
“The PPP had five years to pass laws, as they are required to do for the peace, order and good governance of Guyana. It is nothing but a disgrace that, with three months remaining before they demit office, they are rushing to pass laws, which we all know are only for political propaganda of their election campaign and laws which may not even become operational before they demit office,” Corbin said.
He noted that the Parliamentary recess is intended to give Parliamentarians an opportunity to plan their work programmes and schedules and “the recess is never lightly interrupted”. He pointed out that whenever the suspension of the recess is required, it is usually for some matter of urgent national importance or a national emergency. “The PNCR will, therefore, only agree to the re-scheduling of the recess in such circumstances,” he said.
The PNCR leader charged that the PPP “wants to use this period to interfere with Members of Parliament getting on with their election campaign, while they misuse state resources for the PPP campaign purposes.” He said that the PNCR Members of Parliament will not allow themselves to be distracted from campaign work by “this recent PPP ploy”.
Meanwhile, in relation to the reopened claims and objections period, Corbin said that the PNCR’s position was very clear and the government and the PPP have not tackled the real problem. “The reopening of claims and objections was only to facilitate a few people who the PPP managed to get source documents for,” he said yesterday.
It did not treat with the real problem and that was why the party said it was discriminatory because the source of the problem was to change the procedures and to do things to enable those people without source documents to get it, he said. That was not done, Corbin added. “The only people who could really have benefitted in the main were people who the PPP went and got birth certificates for,” he said.
Meantime, Corbin, when asked, said that he was not in a position to give exact figures for those registered during the reopened claims process but at a meeting on Wednesday night the party’s campaign manager gave a figure which “sort of resembles that same amount”. He was referring to the estimated 5000 persons processed during the reopened period. The figure was cited by government spokesman, Dr, Roger Luncheon.
