Opposition parties continue to push for Minister Rohee’s resignation

While the Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee is satisfied with the Speaker’s ruling removing his gag, responses from the main opposition parties vary.

Despite a no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition, Trotman said that home affairs minister will be allowed to participate fully in the business of the National Assembly.  The ruling could be seen as slap in the face of the opposition which had been very adamant in its condemnation of Rohee following last year’s killings during the Linden protest.
APNU’s response
The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) considers the Speaker’s ruling as an unprecedented, contradictory and legally weak ruling, claiming that the document, is unfortunately, replete with inaccuracies, of doubtful legal soundness, and contradicts the documented positions previously taken by the Speaker.
Pointing out some of the inaccuracies, APNU said the document claims that the Speaker was of the view that the National Assembly wanted to inhibit the home affairs minister from performing his ministerial functions, whereas “the reality is that, as a consequence of his dismal performance and failures over the last six years, the majority in the National Assembly passed a motion of no confidence in the competence of the incumbent to be responsible for the security of the nation”.
In light of the party’s stance on the Speaker’s ruling, APNU parliamentarian Debra Backer said while they are dismayed at the ruling of the Speaker of House Raphael Trotman, the opposition will continue in its campaign for the resignation of Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee. She claimed that the APNU has received thousands of complaints from concerned citizen calling for his removal.

Backer stated that the ruling needs to be brought to the National Assembly for debate, and it is currently not within the jurisdiction of Parliament, because the Speaker chose instead to release the ruling to the press, prior to it being discussed. She said however, that the APNU will remain committed to their campaign platform call for shared governance.
Another APNU parliamentarian Basil Williams stated that the Rohee debacle was not the primary concern of Parliament, and “we carry on work in the Parliament, this is not a matter that comes up all the time”, and as a result, Guyanese should not feel as though Parliament was neglecting its duty.
AFC’s response
“The AFC position is simply, we will respect the ruling and move on… the commands of the House should be respected,” said Alliance for Change (AFC) leader Khemraj Ramjattan at a press conference held by the party on Wednesday.
However, the party warned that its parliamentarians will reserve the right to cooperate, or not to, with the minister, noting that with him at the helm of the security sector, there are fears that Guyanese will have to cower behind their grilled homes as a consequence.

According to Ramjattan, it is possible that the party will shut down all motions tabled by the minister.
“We are going to vote down every bill he brings because he must understand that if we do not have any confidence in that minister, why should we vote for a bill coming from him?” Ramjattan stated.
Like the response from the APNU, Ramjattan also said that his party will continue to push the government to adhere to their call for Rohee’s resignation as minister.
As it is, both the APNU and the have been calling for collaboration with the government, and to move the security sector forward, however, it is unclear how this would be possible, as they have refused to hear bills and amendments aimed at reforms tabled by Rohee in his capacity as home affairs minister.