Bills without Executive’s input will not be accepted – Ramotar

President Donald Ramotar has sent a warning to the opposition about the abuse of their one seat majority in the National Assembly, stating categorically that he will not affix his signature to any bill that is brought to his desk without the input of the executive.
His warning came in response to the notion that is being propagated as a “Rule by Motion” politics in the National Assembly where the coalition party, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has 26 seats and, the Alliance For Change (AFC) seven.
“That is not the function of the Opposition. They must respect what is their role… I am making it very clear that I will not assent to any bill that they carry unless it is with the full agreement of the executive and the full involvement of the executive,” the Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted the president as saying during a recent interview on the National Communications Network (NCN).
The president regards the move by the opposition a violation of the separation of powers doctrine and, an attempt to confiscate authority that was not constitutionally given to them. It is on this basis that President Ramotar said the government has taken to litigation in an attempt to seek redress over the cuts to the 2012 National Budget.
The government took to the High Court against the opposition regarding the cuts, with the case being based on the structure of the Guyana Constitution and the doctrine of the separation of powers of the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.
At the convening of the case on June 7, Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Anil Nandlall stated that the actions of the opposition in the National Assembly have taken away that ability from the executive, several other constitutional creations, other important executive entities and bodies that were created by executive decisions.
The attorney general contended that the presentation of estimates to the assembly is a function that resides exclusively with the executive, which the assembly has the power to scrutinise, approve or disapprove, but not the power to reduce.
The case has been adjourned to July 3, giving the opposition three weeks in which to prepare submissions on why the interim order applied for should not be granted to the government.
President Ramotar is however, hoping for expediency and is counting on the advice of his attorneys who are convinced that the government’s case is sound and justifiable. “Before we think about other steps, let’s wait on this judicial step to be taken to restore what I believe was a violation of the Constitution by the opposition in the National Assembly,”
President Ramotar said. The opposition parties voted against Gy$ 21 billion from the 2012 National Budget, jeopardising the functions and very existence of some crucial government sectors and programmes. Among them are the Low Carbon Development Strategy which lost Gy$ 18 billion and the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), the Government Information Agency (GINA) the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) and State Planning Secretariat, all of which were left with one Guyana dollar.
The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has reported noticeable deceleration of some indicators in the economy as a result of the unprecedented cuts, which it believes are not overly alarming, but are “showing up more and more every day”.