Rohee questions ‘workability’ of House

Senior government minister, Clement Rohee said that he has mixed feelings about the “workability” of the current parliamentary setup, even as the administration continues to lament the combined opposition’s selection of the top leaders of the National Assembly from within their camp.

Rohee made the comments on a National Communications Network talk show on Saturday, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said in a release.

Rohee said the entire proceedings and the manner in which the Speaker was elected seem to be farcical, as it is something that appears to be well pre-arranged by the joint opposition.

“It was interesting to note that sections of the media already had an indication of what was going to happen on Thursday… this historical antecedence whereby the government would win the executive and the majority of the House, it would graciously concede the Deputy Speaker, as a matter of tradition, to the opposition… APNU and the AFC conspired for some time to hog everything for themselves… having lost the executive and having won the majority in the National Assembly, they decided to occupy other positions… this is the tip of the ice-berg in what is expected to come,” Minister Rohee contended.

“Mr Granger and Roopnaraine (Rupert) have already made it clear that they have an agenda that they are going to push, and on the other hand they are saying that they are not going to block the passage of bills and motions made by the government… this is a charade… it ought not to have been because it is inconsistent with best practices in democratic countries,” Minister Rohee said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who also appeared on the programme said government is committed to continuing its work since the ruling party has the largest bloc of parliamentarians, and there is an absolute need for Parliament to get on with the business of the country.

Hinds said a lot of learning in procedural things must take place by all the political parties involved, which would be extended to members of the public so that they can have reasonable expectations from the parliamentary sittings. “This learning process would also encompass not only the expectations of our Guyanese people, but it will also address the issue of how government can function… there are lots of things that need to be done along the way at different times, taking into consideration the budget amongst other things,” Hinds said.

Hinds further noted that the party’s ‘Chief Whip’ and Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira has made a study on minority situations particularly in the Caribbean, and 99 per cent of the times, the opposition has allowed the nominee of the government to become Speaker of the National Assembly.

“This did not turn out that way in Parliament when it was convened. Nevertheless, we have to get on with the business of the government so that citizens can benefit… that is what our party and government intends on doing,” Hinds said.

“That would be the focus of the government… in some matters, there may be differences in view… there may be earnest honest differences on various matters… one can imagine that on some issues there may have a combination where two of the three parties share the same view on some matter,” Hinds said.

Rehashing the occurrences of the deliberations which were initiated after the declaration of the positions of the November 28, 2011 polls, Hinds noted that initial discussions were held by President Donald Ramotar and other senior members of the PPP/C with members of the APNU and the AFC as it pertains to the nomination of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. However, the PPP/C believes that the other parties did not play through with its expectations of appointing Ralph Ramkarran as speaker for the Tenth Parliament.

“Nevertheless, Mr Trotman is appointed as Speaker of the National Assembly… he is therefore expected to hold the balance in Parliament, acting as fairly and evenhandedly as anyone could… We on the government’s side would need to get on with our programmes and advance the business of the country… even President Donald Ramotar during the campaign season spoke about getting on with the economic and social development of the country… that is what we certainly want to get on with,” Hinds reiterated.