The debate on a motion to compel the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) to deposit its finances into the Consolidated Fund was deferred, since there was no time for it at Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly.
The motion, brought to the House by Shadow Finance Minister and APNU MP Carl Greenidge, sought also to make provision for an independent financial audit of NICIL and the Privatisation Unit. It will now be debated at the next sitting of the National Assembly, scheduled for May 30.
It asks that the National Assembly request the responsible ministers of Government to provide the National Assembly with a report on the disposal by sale or otherwise of all state lands, including the terms on which they were disposed of and the criteria used.
The motion also seeks a detailed report on the disposal by sale or otherwise of all state assets entrusted to NICIL and the Privatisation Unit, the terms on which they were disposed of and the criteria used. It also seeks the outstanding bi-annual reports and annual audited accounts required of NICIL and the Privatisation Unit under the relevant legislation.
It further seeks from NICIL a report on all the fiscal concessions, including duty-free concessions, granted in response to specific requests or as part of contracts awarded by the Tender Board and the criteria on which these awards were based be placed before the National Assembly for review.
The motion also seeks to have the Minister of Finance lay in the National Assembly for review and where applicable, for ratification, all international agreements, including mining agreements involving the award of state lands and fiscal concessions, signed by the Government since January 1, 2000.
The motion said that all of these requests have to be carried out by June 1, 2012.
Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh tabled the NICL report for the year 2004 in the National Assembly on Thursday.
During the sitting, the House carried a motion seeking to have the Parliament commence a search for missing Hansard records from 1985 to 1992, during the period when Greenidge was Minister of Finance.
