Dear Editor,
A sitting of the National Assembly was scheduled for November 12. This date was set on October 22 when the House last met. Now we’re being told that the November 12 sitting has been “postponed to a date to be fixed.”
Editor, this was done at the request of the APNU+AFC administration. According to a government media release, “The request for the rescheduling was made as a result of Guyana’s attendance at an international summit. From November 9th to 13th the Summit of South American-Arab Countries (ASPA) will be held in Saudi Arabia and Guyana’s attendance is of critical importance at this time. This has necessitated the attendance of His Excellency, President David Granger and Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge.”
The government notes that during this period several other key government functionaries, members of parliament and clerks of the Assembly are likely to travel overseas to attend “important conferences and training courses.”
This explanation is preposterous, unacceptable, and clearly demonstrates the lack of priorities emanating from an inexperienced APNU+AFC administration.
For most Guyanese, “of critical importance at this time” is for this government to find workable solutions to deal with problems affecting two of our main export industries, rice and sugar. To the business sector, “of critical importance” is for government to stimulate growth and investments to jumpstart the Guyana economy. And also “of critical importance at this time”, is for the administration to come up with some creative ideas to “destroy the monster of criminality” as Granger had promised the people of Regions 5 and 6. Ministers must put the interest of the nation above self, and get on with the people’s business.
But although I’m convinced that this government will use every opportunity to broaden their horizons on the international scene, there is a more sinister reason for the postponement of the November 12 sitting of the National Assembly.
Cabinet must have received an invitation some time before the October 22 sitting of the National Assembly to attend the Summit of South American-Arab countries in Saudi Arabia. They would have known the summit will be held from November 9th to 13th. If a decision was not taken on whether or not to attend by the October 22 sitting of Parliament, then it could not have been considered of “critical importance” to Guyana, and the people’s business would have been debated in the National Assembly on November 12 as scheduled. But if, on the other hand, Guyana’s participation at the summit was indeed of “critical importance”, then before the sitting of the National Assembly ended on October 22, a written request by Prime Minister Nagamootoo at this time would have satisfied the requirement of six days’ notice for a change of date to November 9, as they now claimed they tried to do. But the cunning Mr Nagamootoo and Chief Whip Amna Ally willfully and mischievously kept silent and allowed the Speaker, Dr Barton Scotland to postpone the next sitting of Parliament to November 12, knowing full well that the President and other government MPs would be in Saudi Arabia at that time. Then they waited until November 5 to request a postponement, stating that “the Leader of Government Business [PM Moses Nagamootoo] had previously requested that the sitting be brought forward to Monday, November 9th, 2015 but he later withdrew that request to the Honourable Speaker as it did not satisfy the requirement of six days’ notice for a change of date.” This is absolute baloney!
This timing is deliberate and well calculated to avoid the debate on the opposition’s motion calling for the annulment of the September 25th Order No.16 which gave the ministers, members of the National Assembly and special offices exorbitant salary increases.
Now this is what makes me a bit cynical: Normally, a notice from the Clerk postponing a sitting of the National Assembly would have been followed by a new date, but this was not done here. The notice only said “…postponed to a date to be fixed.” But when you read this in the context of the explanation given by the government which states, “The Government notes that during this period several other key government functionaries, Members of Parliament and Clerks of the Assembly are likely to travel overseas to attend important conferences and training courses”, I am convinced that Parliament will not convene any time soon. This is just a naked ploy to prevent the debate on the motion on salary increases, and is designed to push the next date for a sitting beyond the time period for it to be debated. While the economy remains in dire crisis and families struggle to make ends meet, the APNU+AFC administration has now resorted to a new low ‒ trickery and deception to protect the massive increase they’ve given themselves.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Gill, MP
