Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Aubrey Norton has justified the actions of Opposition Parliamentarians after their attempt to seize the Speaker’s Mace in an effort to derail the passage of the Natural Resource Fund Bill on December 29.
Norton, during a virtual press conference yesterday, said that the government’s rush to move the NRF Bill through the National Assembly and the Speaker’s facilitation of that is what led the Opposition MPs to act the way they did.
On December 29, 2021, led by MP Annette Ferguson a group of MPs charged at the Speaker’s ceremonial Mace resulting in a tussle with parliamentary security and the parliamentarians. The incident occurred as Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had begun his presentation on the Bill. Eventually, the Opposition MPs, blaring whistles, placards and chanting loudly were unable to derail the passage of the controversial piece of legislation.