MPs need to prioritise interest of people – Teixeira

Given that the first session of the 10th Parliament was characterised by budget cuts and contravention of established parliamentary rules and procedures, Guyanese are alert now more than ever and are eagerly waiting to see what will play out in the National Assembly now that the Parliamentary recess has come to an end.

PPP/ C’s Chief Whip and Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira said that the government is waiting to see if the opposition will proceed with their old tactics, or will come to a more rational and sober assessment of their role in the Parliament.
“If they are coming with their view of obstructing as they did in the last session, I do not know how much we will accomplish as a country in Parliament,” Teixeira said.
Government on the other hand, is prepared to forge ahead with several pieces of legislation that it hopes to pilot during this second session. These include amendments to the Sexual Offences Act to address a legal impediment, which has resulted in victims’ cases being stalled at the courts.
Additionally, she noted that the government is committed to ensuring that work is expedited at the select committee that is dealing with the four local government bills, so that the long- awaited Local Government elections can be held. These include: Fiscal Transfers Bill, Municipal and District Councils (Amendment) Bill, Local Government (Amendment) Bill and the Local Government Commission Bill.
Teixeira noted that the select committee that is dealing with the resolution on commitments made to the United Nations Human Rights Council on the abolition of corporal punishment, the death penalty and the decriminalisation of consensual adult same-sex relations and discrimination against lesbians, gays, bi-sexual, and transgender persons will have the input of many people.
She said that the Public Accounts Committee has not looked at the 2010 Auditor General’s report as yet, and thus far, no public or state agency has been called to answer questions on the report.
Meanwhile, the 2011 report has recently been submitted by the Auditor General, this means that the committee, which is chaired by APNU member, Carl Greenidge, is lagging two years behind. “We re-scrutinised the auditor general reports to scrutinise government’s accountability and transparency, and to be able to improve the way in which regions function and operate at a financial level within the state sector,” Teixeira said.
With regards to the sectoral committees, which serve as oversight bodies to the government’s policies and performance, a chairperson is yet to be elected. The chief whip lamented that nine months has elapsed and none of the sectoral committees has been convened. She noted that if the 10th Parliament continues its current trend, then it will be known as an ineffective Parliament compared to the ninth Parliament, which saw the passage of over 100 bills. “We are very resolute, we have a developmental agenda and we have to keep powering through,” she reaffirmed.