Although still upset over the opposition parties’ decision to elect their own nominee for Speaker of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds has said the PPP/C administration would press ahead with its agenda.
Hinds, who heads the government in the Assembly, made this declaration on Sunday, during a discussion programme aired on the National Communication Network (NCN).
Among the groups in the Assembly, the PPP/C has the largest single bloc of parliamentarians but the opposition APNU and AFC have a combined one-seat majority, which allowed it to elect AFC leader Raphael Trotman as Speaker last Thursday, while APNU’s Deborah Backer was elected Deputy Speaker. The PPP/C did not nominate a candidate to contest to be the Deputy Speaker.
Hinds said that the PPP/C’s Chief Whip Gail Teixeira has made a study on minority situations, particularly in the Caribbean, and noted that 99% of the times, the opposition has allowed the nominee of the government to become Speaker of the National Assembly.
The government’s nominee for Speaker had been Ralph Ramkarran, who had served as Speaker in the last two Parliaments.
“This did not turn out that way in Parliament, when it was convened, nevertheless we have to get on with the business of the government so that citizens can benefit…that is what our party and government intends on doing,” Hinds said, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA).
“Nevertheless, Mr Trotman is appointed as Speaker of the National Assembly … he is therefore expected to hold the balance in parliament, acting as fairly and even-handedly as anyone could…. We on the government’s side would need to get on with our programmes and advance the business of the country…even President Donald Ramotar during the campaign season spoke about getting on with the economic and social development of the country… that is what we certainly want to get on with,” he added.
He also noted that in some matters, there may be differences of opinions, which he added may be earnest differences and may result on occasion on situations where two of the three parties share the same view.
On the same programme, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee said that the entire proceedings and the manner in which the Speaker was elected seemed to be farcical, since it appeared to be well pre-arranged by the joint opposition.
“It was interesting to note that sections of the media already had an indication of what was going to happen on Thursday… APNU and the AFC conspired for some time to hog everything for themselves… having lost the executive and having won the majority in the National Assembly, they decided to occupy other positions… this is the tip of the ice-berg in what is expected to come,” he was quoted as saying.
Rohee also admitted to mixed feelings about the “workability” of the current parliamentary setup.
“Mr Granger and Roopnaraine [Rupert] have already made it clear that they have an agenda that they are going to push, and on the other hand they are saying that they are not going to block the passage of bills and motions made by the government… this is a charade… it ought not to have been because it is inconsistent with best practices in democratic countries,” he added.
According to GINA, Rohee’s sentiments echoed earlier concerns expressed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall and Former Minister of Local Government Clinton Collymore, in a similar discussion programme aired last Thursday on NCN.
Nandlall was quoted as saying that the opposition’s action on the Speaker is an indication of what is expected from them during the sittings of the Tenth Parliament, which means that the business of the government may not proceed.
Collymore, GINA said, referred to the current setting of the parliament as “biased and seemingly racial in nature,” since African-Guyanese hold the key positions.
