The National Assembly’s Committee of Privileges has recommended the suspension of eight APNU+AFC Members of Parliament (MPs) for what was described as an unprecedented move to derail the parliamentary process when they forcibly removed the ceremonial mace from the Chamber as part of a protest to stop the passage of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) bill.
However, the main opposition APNU+AFC has rejected the recommendations, calling them “unconstitutional, unparliamentary and an act of political discrimination and suppression.”
The incident occurred just after 7 pm on December 29, 2021, when Senior Minister in the Office of the President with the responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh took to the floor to present the bill for the second reading. Prior to the incident, the main opposition and a range of civil society voices had been calling for the bill, which had sought to repeal the Natural Resources Fund Act of 2019, to be sent to a special select committee for debate and consultations.
The government did not accede to the request and the bill was rushed through the House and later signed into law by President Irfaan Ali.
On the chaotic night of December 29, APNU+AFC parliamentarians were scattered throughout the parliamentary chamber chanting “no thieving bill must pass,” while blowing whistles and banging on the tables.
The Speaker tried, unsuccessfully, to restore order to the House.
In the end, MP Annette Ferguson grabbed the ceremonial mace and made a dash for the door but was tackled by the Sergeant-at-Arms and another parliamentary security officer. At this time other Opposition MPs rushed to her aid even as Singh was still on the floor making his presentation.
Later, a video surfaced of APNU+AFC MP Maureen Philadelphia hurling slurs at Parliamentary staffer Ean Mc Pherson.
A motion was subsequently moved by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira to refer Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones, Ganesh Mahipaul, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Annette Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley and Philadelphia to the Committee of Privileges.
The motion argued that Ferguson and Jordan “committed contempt and breaches of privileges by forcefully, unauthorisedly, and in a disorderly fashion, removing the Mace from its rightful position and attempting to remove it from the Chamber, thereby creating grave disorder and chaos which resulted in injuries to a member of staff of the Parliament Office and damage to the Mace.”
It added, “…Sarabo-Halley committed contempt and breaches of privileges by unauthorisedly entering the communication control room of the Arthur Chung Convention Centre and destroyed several pieces of audio-visual equipment, being public property, with the intention to disrupt the sound and internet connection so as to affect the Assembly from conducting its lawful business.”
Similarly, the opposition through Jones and then Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon submitted a motion to the Privileges Committee against several members of the government side. Teixeira, Prime Minister Mark Phillips, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, Minister Nigel Dharamlall, Minister Kwame McCoy, Minister Anand Persaud, Minister Susan Rodrigues, Jennifer Westford, Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, Sanjeev Datadin, Minister Robeson Benn, Minister Hugh Todd, Faizal Jafarally, Minister Juan Edghill, Sheila Veerasammy, Minister Vickram Bharrat, Minister Joseph Hamilton, Alister Charlie, Minister Charles Ramson, Minister Deodat Indar, Minister Collin Croal and Minister Vindhya Persaud were all named in the opposition’s motion.
Suspension
According to the Committee’s report, which is slated to be laid in the National Assembly on Thursday, July 21, the Committee’s findings were based on video recordings, statements by staff of the Parliament Office and the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, eyewitness accounts by other Members of the House, media reporters and the public, both locally and internationally.
It said that each of the Opposition MPs was written to and asked to “show cause” why they should not be sanctioned.
“The Committee found that the named Members were in violation of the Standing Orders, established Customs and Practices regarding acceptable behaviour of Members in the Assembly. The Committee determined that an appropriate sanction available that the National Assembly can apply would be suspension from service in the House,” the report informed.
As a result of the findings, on June 3, the Committee recommended that Jones, Mahipaul, Duncan and Singh-Lewis be suspended for four consecutive sittings.
In the case of Ferguson and Jordan, the Committee recommended suspension for six consecutive sittings, noting “…the Committee concurred that the Members had committed serious violations which were severe and egregious by unauthorizedly removing the Parliamentary Mace from its rightful position in a disorderly fashion, causing damage to the Mace, injuring and assaulting a staff of the Parliament Office, while attempting to remove the Mace from the Chamber.”
Additionally, suspensions for six sittings were also recommended for Sarabo-Halley and Philadelphia for the destruction of public property and assault, respectively.
Sarabo-Halley is accused of damaging 1 Maxwell capture, 1 8-channel HDMI splitter, 1 4-channel GDMI splitter, 2 ITC video converter boxes, 2 25ft HDMI cable and 1 Shure SM 58 cordless microphone. The items reportedly cost $351,900.
The Committee is chaired by Speaker Manzoor Nadir.
Each of the eight members did submit letters arguing their case to the Committee.
In his letter, Jones argued that the motion referring him to the Committee was ‘presumptively’ passed. He said that he is unaware that his conduct was any different from other members of the National Assembly on December 29.
“As a consequence, I, therefore, request that you provide me with particulars of the gross disorderly conduct, contempt and breaches of privileges alleged against me, in order for me, on the advice of my counsel, to send to you a detailed response on what I should not be sanctioned,” Jones’ letter said.
Meanwhile, Singh-Lewis argued, “…these allegations are unfounded and are made with the intention to bring disrepute to my person as a female elected official and as a Muslim woman.” She also asked for the particulars of the allegations adding that it is her contention that the motion was not properly passed and as such the jurisdiction of the Committee is challenged.
Mahipaul asked that the Committee identify the standing orders or privileges that he reportedly violated.
All of the sanctioned MPs asked for specifics as it relates to the allegations but the Committee did not provide those.
Reject
In a statement yesterday, the Office of the Leader of the Opposition said that the APNU+AFC rejects the report of the Committee.
“To this date, July 16th, 2022, none of the eight Members of Parliament has received a response from the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Clerk of the Committee of Privileges, or the Speaker of the National Assembly. The Opposition MPs are now however in receipt of a report from the Committee of Privileges which has ascribed to them several false and trumped-up acts intended to impugn their good character. The report recommends suspension for all MPs,” the statement read.
It argued that the recommendations are unconstitutional since Guyana’s constitution enshrines the right of all citizens to natural justice regardless of the charges. APNU+AFC added that the MPs were not given an opportunity to be heard by a competent, independent, and impartial court or any other tribunal prescribed by law.
It further argued that the recommendations are also ‘unparliamentary’ because the records of Parliament show that all Members of Parliament in the past who were referred to the Committee of Privileges were always afforded the opportunity to be represented by legal counsels of their choice and were all given the opportunity to be heard.
“[The recommendations are] An act of political discrimination and suppression, aimed at deterring and intimidating Opposition MPs from fully scrutinizing and criticizing the actions of the government on behalf of the Guyanese people. It is our firm conviction that this is yet another attempt by the PPP regime to continue breaking down the guardrails of our democracy.
“But our lawmakers will not sit back and allow such an unconstitutional act to go unchallenged. We wish to assure our supporters, friends, and all Guyanese that this illegal act to suspend eight Members of Parliament without due process will be challenged,” the statement added.
The report of the Committee would now be laid in the House for it to be adopted and the decision executed. It is unclear whether the opposition would mount its challenge before the next sitting of the National Assembly in an effort to prevent its members from being suspended.
