Govt. wasted about $1M on needless sitting – Opposition

The sitting of the National Assembly yesterday lasted less than an hour and only dealt with a few matters,

Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira

all of which the Opposition felt was not urgent.
In this regard, members of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) indicated that it basically boiled down to a waste of taxpayer’s money when Government comes to Parliament to deal with just a few items, all of which could have waited until there was really more on their legislative agenda to deal with .
It was emphasized that each sitting costs about $1M and that taxpayers certainly aren’t paying for their leaders to just deal with three to four issues within 45 minutes and “cut and run.” The political opposition emphasised that this is not value for money.
Specifically, Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira told the media that the sitting of the House was just “an absurdity.”
The politician asserted, “The sitting was less than one hour and really no sitting should have been held today (yesterday) because there was nothing on the agenda basically.”
She continued, “Furthermore, I did think that maybe they were calling the sitting because they wanted to bring bills and motions in, but there is nothing that they brought really. It seems as if Government’s legislative agenda is extraordinarily thin and almost nonexistent.”
The Member of Parliament also expressed that she was shocked to learn that the next sitting of the House would be until May 4, which is on the eve of Arrival Day, a national holiday.
“Again, one wonders what it is with this Government. Doesn’t it have any agenda?” Teixeira asked.
The Opposition Chief Whip also noted that the move to have the next sitting in May, would suggest that Government’s Members of Parliament are doing a lot of travelling in April.
She added, “But I think the Guyanese should be asking, what the devil is this Government really bringing into this Parliament?”
With regard to the business of the House yesterday, members collectively agreed for Guyana to join the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) following a motion that was moved by Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo.
In his motion, Nagamootoo noted that the IPU provides an opportunity to express views on issues of international interest with the aim of bringing about action by Parliaments and provides the forum for the promotion and defence of human rights, which is an essential factor of parliamentary democracy.
The politician noted that the Parliamentary Management Committee, at its 13th Meeting, held on May 2, 2014, decided that Guyana should become a Member of the IPU, and the Parliament on May 27, 2014 made application to the IPU for membership.
The motion was passed with the understanding that it will cost the nation some $2M annually as part of the membership agreement. (Kiana Wilburg )