After almost five hours of fierce arguments between the government and opposition, Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman this evening ruled that a motion brought by Opposition Leader David Granger to gag Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee would be sent to the Privileges Committee for consideration and in the interim the minister would not be allowed to bring any motion to the House.
In a ruling, which the Speaker said would be controversial and that he would even offer to resign should any side find that he was not properly performing his duties, Trotman said that while the motion brought before the House by Granger was proper he would instruct that it be taken to the Privileges Committee where it would be further scrutinized. This Committee looks at disciplinary issues pertaining to MPs.
His ruling did not go down well with the government side and Prime Minister Sam Hinds later pointed out that his edict effectively put the opposition’s motion into effect by virtue of him saying he would not allow Minister Rohee to bring any motions and suspending the second reading of the Firearms (Amendment) Bill which was to come up today.
Granger said that while he respected the ruling he questioned why if his motion was properly before the House it should not be debated.
The hours of arguments by the various members saw sometimes heated exchanges and following a comment by AFC’s Leader Khemraj Ramjattan that the opposition can bring motions to sanction all government ministers, PPP/C’s member Bibi Shadick challenged him to so do and “see if we don’t get snap elections tonight.”
Granger’s motion was brought in the wake of the July no-confidence motion in Parliament against the minister which sought his resignation or removal by the president and Trotman’s ruling earlier this month that he does not have the power to prevent the minister from speaking. The Speaker was forced at the last sitting to adjourn parliament after opposition members refused to allow Rohee to speak and drowned him out by chanting “Rohee must go.”
