Dear Editor,
The authority that the people have given to the parliamentarians embodies their will and determination in pursuit of their goal for an improved quality of life. The back and forth about whose authority it is to reconvene sittings of the National Assembly has no place in the current equation. There is business to be discussed on behalf of the people, and the Speaker and Chief Whips from the government and opposition sides must be told that they cannot be involved in an act of paying themselves and their colleagues, and not reporting for work.
Vacation/recess in the National Assembly is over. Our Members of Parliament will correctly not tolerate the attitude of receiving pay and not turning up for work from any employee in the public service or any agency, including their own business. It is time we hold these elected officials accountable because they are being paid from the sweat of our labour.
In our political system we vote for persons to enter parliament on our behalf, to discuss and make decisions on issues that impact on our wellbeing. We vested that authority in our elected leaders/representatives and we must demand that they use it in our interest. The dynamic nature of society makes change inevitable. The world does not remain the same, as such parliament remains an important arm of government to deliberate on and review activities taking place day-by-day on the people’s behalf.
Two days after the Assembly went into recess, I was in discussion with a group on the manner in which the House proceeded on recess.
The discussion was centred on the likelihood of what is presently taking place. This concern was raised in light of the Prime Minister, who is Leader of the Government business in the House, giving dates when the House would go into the recess and when that recess would end. What the prime minister did not give the House was a date when the Assembly would sit again.
The Leader of the Opposition did not get up and ask the prime minister to present the House with a date, or propose a date for it to be reconvened and have it agreed before that final sitting was adjourned. When the Executive, who doesn’t enjoy the majority in the House, was allowed to have the House go into recess without an agreed date to sit again, it was clearly a red flag. This failure to attend to fundamental housekeeping matters was interpreted as mischief afoot.
We are now where we are today and a solution must be found.
Ralph Ramkarran, former Speaker, presented to this nation cogent arguments on the interpretation of the Standing Orders relating to how the National Assembly ought to sit. He acknowledged errors were made in the past and during his stewardship, which he took responsibility for. The Clerk of the National Assembly presented his advice on the determination of fixing a date to reconvene, guided by his interpretation of the Standing Orders and two precedents.
As we examine these two positions (Ramkarran’s and the Clerk’s) what is germane to the issue is the acknowledged errors made in the past on interpretation of the Standing Orders, i.e. day for sitting; the laissez-faire approach in conducting the House’s business; and the refusal of previous Speakers to grant the opposition’s request to call a sitting when the opposition did not enjoy the majority will of the people.
In the past, the composition of the Assembly in the determination of the will of the people was in favour of the Executive Branch, i.e. the Government side of the House.
Also, the present Constitution (1980) was not the one that guided governance in the 1963 and 1972 precedents. Today, in this 10th Parliament, the majority will of the people is reflected in the combined opposition, i.e. the opposition side of the House. Thus, in keeping with the majority will of the people, the opposition’s call to reconvene the Assembly on any specific date, must be honoured.
The Speaker is the head of the National Assembly. According to Article 50 in the Guyana Constitution the Parliament is the nation’s supreme organ of democratic power. In the past when the Executive had the numerical majority in the parliament, theirs was a greater say and, sometimes the only say as to when the Assembly sits.
Today, the opposition has the majority voice in the Assembly and consistent with the independence/separation of powers and the supremacy of this branch of government, the Speaker must respond positively to the majority’s request and have the House reconvened.
This PPP administration has been on an exercise of disregarding the established structures in this society that ought to guide the conduct of the nation’s business and the people’s wellbeing. The society must not partner with them and others in continuing the violations of the nation’s supreme law, and the undermining of governance. Every employee has to turn up for work if s/he is going to be paid, unless s/he is on vacation or sick leave. The recess has ended and our Members of Parliament must get back to work, forthwith.
Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis
