Speaker Manzoor Nadir yesterday dismissed the APNU+AFC motion calling for 22 members of the government to be sent to the Privileges Committee for alleged “unparliamentary conduct” on the grounds that a prima facie case was not established.
Nadir also found that the opposition coalition could not have brought a legal action over an illegal action that it initiated in the first place.
Eight APNU+AFC MPs have already been referred to the Privileges Committee for raucous behaviour at the December 29th sitting during the second reading and passage of the Natural Resource Fund Act.
However, the opposition coalition also served notice of a motion to have government members referred to the committee and a motion of no confidence against Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir.
In announcing his decision on the APNU+AFC motion, the Speaker did not refer to the motion brought against him.
Both motions were submitted in the names of then Leader of the Opposition Joe Harmon and the Chief Whip for the opposition Christopher Jones.
In giving its version of the events that took place, the coalition’s motion claimed that both government and opposition members participated in the raucous behaviour. It states, “…during the sitting of the Parliament of Guyana, Members of the Opposition and Government ended up in a physical, loud and aggressive “face-off” in the well of the National Assembly.”
But it added that it was members of the government side who “engaged in and used abusive and threatening language and behaviour towards Members of the Opposition and that this conduct and behaviour was unparliamentary to say the least and violative of the privileges accorded to a member of this National Assembly.”
“AND WHEREAS by their conduct, Members of the Government side have brought the Parliament of Guyana and this National Assembly into disrepute and invited public odium into the affairs of the Assembly… it is the belief of this National Assembly that Members of the Government side should be referred to the Committee of Privileges where their conduct and behaviour will be examined and appropriate sanctions recommended where appropriate,” it further stated.
The government members named were Prime Minister Mark Phillips, Anil Nandlall, Nigel Dharamlall, Gail Teixeira, Kwame McKoy, Anand Persaud, Susan Rodrigues, Jennifer Westford, Zulfikar Mustapha, Sanjeev Datadin, Robeson Benn, Hugh Todd, Faizal Jafarally, Juan Edghill, Sheila Veerasammy, Vickram Bharrat Joseph Hamilton, Alister Charlie, Charles Ramson, Deodat Indar, Collin Croal and Vindhya Persaud.
The motion made no reference to the racial abuse heaped by APNU+AFC MPs on a parliamentary staffer on December 29.
Jones, and Annette Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Ganesh Mahipaul, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley and Maureen Philadelphia are the APNU+AFC MPs who have been referred to the Privileges Committee.
