Partnership imperative to advance nation’s business – Trotman

Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman said partnership must prevail among all parties and Members of Parliament (MPs) in the National Assembly. This, he stressed, is not an option but a necessity, as it will help to move the business of the country forward. Trotman said it is no accident that the theme: “Managing through Partnership” was chosen.

According to him, the 10th Parliament started with many changes, a reality that must be accepted by all MPs.

“Parliament and the executive are expected to work as partners if there is to be success of any kind. It may be difficult to attempt, perhaps, but it is indispensable to our nation’s good health and development,” Trotman said. He also urged MPs to tone down their rhetoric, and view the changes as an opportunity for progress and development, not a challenge or a stumbling block.

“Constitution review and reform is, therefore, imperative to continue the work of redesigning and adapting our executive Parliament and our judiciary,” Trotman pointed out.

He said there needs to be greater civility and tolerance in discourse and interaction among parliamentarians.

The two-day seminar, he explained, is geared to get MPs from both sides of the House to embrace the concept of a partnership as a management tool for government.

Meanwhile, British High Commissioner to Guyana Andrew Ayre said that the seminar is taking place at the most critical moment in Guyana’s history, and is an important step in joining forces for a better working Parliament.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative Khadija Musa noted that the seminar will be informative and commended the Speaker and the government for making the initiative a reality.

Deputy Chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Dr Rupert Roopnaraine said the 10th Parliament has come a long way from previous parliaments, especially based on the work done in the 1999 constitutional reform process.

“The division that began in the political campaigns before the elections is still there, and it is fresh and my feeling is that in weeks or months ahead, we will go beyond and find the necessary common ground that we must have if we are to move Guyana forward,” the APNU MP stated.

The striving for consensus will not be easy, Dr Roopnaraine said, but all parties must work collectively. He acknowledged that such a partnership has been established through the setting up of the institutional framework of “tripartite talks”, a mechanism that has so far brought together all three parties in several discussions and could soon see some of the discussions being institutionalised and developed.

The opening of the two-day seminar for MPs was also attended by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, UNICEF Country Representative Suleiman Braimoh, members of the diplomatic corps, MPs from all three political parties, and staff of the National Assembly.

The seminar will be addressed by four guest MPs, three from the United Kingdom: David Lammy, Craig Whittaker, Adrian Jenner Clerk of the Welch Affairs Committee, and an MP from Canada.