Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman says that it is not inappropriate for him – the Speaker of the National Assembly in the Tenth Parliament – to return as a Member of Parliament for this session.
“I see nothing inappropriate about it. I certainly am not going to run around and try to second guess the current Speaker or to interfere with his work in any way because I respect the sanctity of the office and respect the independence of the office, so I have no intentions of interfering in the parliamentary functions or the functions of the Speaker,” Trotman told Stabroek News in an interview on Monday.
“I think what would be inappropriate is if I misuse my authority now or try to interfere or try to, in any way, allow the defined line that separates the executive from the legislative branches to be crossed and I have no intentions of even going near the line, much less crossing it,” he asserted.
The minister said that in the past, there was one Speaker – former Speaker of the National Assembly during the PNC administration Sase Narain – who returned as an MP, in 1992, so the move is not unprecedented. He said that it is, however, unprecedented for a former Speaker to become a minister of government in Guyana, though it has happened in other parts of the world. According to Trotman, he will be using the knowledge gained in his former position to help him in looking at the area of governance.
He added that in some jurisdictions, being Speaker is seen as a kind of retirement step but he was chosen because of the political situation of a hung parliament and he never saw his political career coming to an end.
Trotman said that he did not push to become a minister but was asked by President David Granger and he agreed. The Minister of Governance falls under the Ministry of the Presidency and Trotman said that he sees himself as Granger’s assistant rather than him trying to advance his political career or ambitions.
