No case has been made out against Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Natural Re-sources Raphael Trotman for a breach of privilege, House Speaker Barton Scotland ruled yesterday.
“I have examined the letter of May 24th and other relevant documents and have concluded that a prima facie case of a breach of privileges has not been made and, as such, the motion is disallowed,” Scotland announc-ed yesterday.
Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira had sought to have Nagamootoo and Trotman sent before the Privileges Committee for comments they made during the budget debate.
“Not surprised. I thought you would have surprised me,” Teixeira commented after the ruling as a few of her colleagues on the opposition side chimed in, in agreement.
Teixeira had written to the Speaker requesting that Nagamootoo and Trotman be sent to the Privileges Committee for a statement Trotman made on forestry during the 2016 budget debate. She later submitted a motion to support this move.
The minister had stated that the present administration met an “alarming situation” where 100% of the country’s productive forests was allocated by the past PPP/C government. According to Teixeira, there is information publicly available that would demonstrate that the statement was untrue and she said it has caused embarrassment to the country and the Guyana-Norway forest partnership.
The statement was repeated by the Prime Minister and Teixeira argued that he should also be sent before the Committee.
Trotman, in response, had said that his statement was a result of a document provided by the Guyana Forestry Commission, which showed the “Total Production Area Allocated by GFC” to be 7,027, 840 hectares, which is 56% of the total state forest, but “represents 100% of lands identified for production.”
“Undoubtedly, there are other lands available, but these other lands are held in reserve. My statement was therefore exclusively focused on productive forests being allocated,” the minister had said, while adding that he was amenable to sharing the document again with members of the opposition.
He had also rejected Teixeira’s assertion that his statement interfered with the Guyana-Norway partnership, while revealing that a letter was written to him by the Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway in which he congratulated him for making the transparent and public statement.
The minister had also argued that he was willing to make the documents available. The Speaker had questioned whether Teixeira “would hold her hand” until after she would have perused the documentation but she had said the minister continued to mislead the House while adding that the Guyana Forestry Commission’s website has data that “totally contradicts him. We have to go with what is a public document on a public website and the Honourable Member has tried to fudge these issues… and I want to strongly recommend…that the minister should go to the Privileges Committee,” she said.
It was following the circulation of the documentation that the opposition Chief Whip submitted the motion. Trotman, for his part, had asked that Teixeira be “sanctioned for abusing the process…by bringing this obvious spurious and vexatious allegation before you, Sir.”
