The National Assembly last night approved three financial papers covering various categories of spending during last year but not before the combined Opposition excised a number of allocations, including for NCN, GINA and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport expansion.
Further, the Opposition blasted Government for bringing items on financial papers for consideration in the Committee of Supply with precious little information in terms of what the spending is for.
Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman, speaking as Chairman of the Committee of Supply, said that since the Government is mandated by law to provide information on the allocations it seeks, he will no longer be presiding over hearings on financial papers where the requisite information is not provided.
During yesterday’s sitting of the Committee of Supply, the Alliance for Change (AFC) on some occasions broke ranks with main opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and abstained in part or completely from voting on the approval of allocations outlined in the financial papers.
And in a twist of events, APNU Member of Parliament Volda Lawrence on three occasions abstained from voting on provisions when her party colleagues voted against them.
Lawrence was unwell yesterday and at the vote during the division for the specialty hospital she was absent, being attended to in the recreational areas. The PPP was able to gain the passage of the allocation for the specialty hospital due to Lawrence’s absence.
However, when it came to the allocations for the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Home Affairs, Lawrence inexplicably abstained, saying nothing while in her seat during the vote.
All the MPs for the AFC abstained on the vote for the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and on the vote on the Ministry of Health, five of them abstained while two voted for the allocation.
The combined Opposi-tion disallowed the return of the $217 million expenditure cut earlier in the year for NCN and GINA.
The Opposition also cut monies in the amount of $65.4 million for the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and $500 million for the Amaila road completion.
But monies were approved for the specialty hospital ($34.4 million), Guyana Power and Light ($1.7 billion ) and Guysuco ($560 million) among others.
Government made a case for the bringing back of allocations cut in the budget for GINA and NCN but Opposition Members of Parliament rejected this interpretation saying that the constitutional article must go together with the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA). Leading the charge for the Opposition was former Finance Minister Carl Greenidge who said that the Act must be read in conjunction with the constitution or else it is pointless.
“We regard this particular request as both unlawful and contemptuous of the House and the decision the House had taken,” he said. “On what basis is this item before the House?” he asked. “It is important that we declare that these items have no right here. They should be rejected. They are an affront and an offence,” he said. “The Minister is not allowed to spend money without coming to the House,” said Greenidge.
Minister within the Ministry of Finance Juan Edghill said that government was relying on Article 218 of the Constitution in utilising the funds. But APNU Member of Parliament Basil Williams said that the Attorney General is wrong in his interpretation of the Constitutional article. He said that Article 218 (3) of the Constitution does not apply where the National Assembly has cut the budget.
Greenidge said that this article of the Constitution could never be intended to be a carte blanche for the Minister of Finance to spend what he wants.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall said that the government was also relying on the ruling by acting Chief Justice Ian Chang on the budget cuts and what the powers of the Parliament were.
Speaker Trotman said that the House has no power to say that the Minister cannot come to the House with the financial papers.
Greenidge said that the Opposition will now move to take action against the Minister for what it deems an illegal action.
AFC MP Moses Nagamootoo said that the two entities – NCN and GINA – are being used for propaganda purposes. He said were this the case before the allocations would not have been cut in the first place.
Edghill said NCN serves every Guyanese. “What was allocated was insufficient to meet the needs of serving the people of Guyana,” he said.
The Opposition voted down the provision in the amount of $500 million for the construction and supervision of sections 3 to 7 of the Amaila Road in financial paper 3. Minister of Works Robeson Benn said that the road in total is 76 percent completed and that it is hoped that all of the works are done before the May/June rainy season.
With the AFC MPs abstaining on the voting on the provision of $500 million in projects in Amerindian communities, the allocation was carried given that the Government voted for it. The House sits again on December 19.
