Several bills including two in the name of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds were deferred during yesterday’s sitting of the National Assembly.
Hinds in asking for the deferral of the Telecommunications Bill 2012 and the Public Utilities Commission (Amendment) Bill 2012 said “We are continuing to review the bills that were introduced into this House some two years ago and we have scheduled meetings all three days of next week, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
We would be meeting with the representatives of GT&T and we are expecting to move these two bills forward early in the coming month.”
Both Bills were read for the first time on August 9, 2012 and have been continuously deferred.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee also rose during the session to ask for four Bills in his name to be deferred. He did not give a reason for his request. Those Bills are the Evidence (Amendment) Bill 2013, Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2013 and the Fire Service (Change of Name) Bill 2013 and the Police (Change of Name) Bill 2013. The first two were first read on March 14 this year while the others were read on May 7, 2013.
The Married Persons (Property) (Amendment) Bill 2013 in the name of APNU MP Deborah Backer had to be deferred because she was performing the duty of Speaker during yesterday’s sitting. It was first published on March 13 this year.
A motion calling for the honouring of the August 21, 2012 agreement between the Government of Guyana and the Regional Democratic Council, Region 10 following the killing of three protesters was deferred on the request of its intended mover APNU MP Vanessa Kissoon. She did not cite any reasons for this request.
Kissoon in the Motion which was first published on March 13 this year is asking that the National Assembly call on the government to “immediately adhere to its commitments and obligations “ under the written agreement of August 21, 2012, “thereby ensuring that the benefits which were to accrue to the residents of Region Ten are realized”.
She is asking for the government to be held “solely accountable for all direct and indirect consequences flowing from its continued unwillingness to adhere to the letter and spirit of the written Agreement of 21st August, 2012”.
