I am the Gov’t; not Greenidge’
RECENT comments made by Shadow Finance Minister and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP), Carl Greenidge may have raised eyebrows in some quarters, but left President Donald Ramotar unmoved.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Samuel Hinds
Greenidge on Monday took the President to task for proroging Parliament, and went as far as to threaten that any agreement or contract signed with the Government during the prorogation period will not be honoured and will be “reopened” for scrutiny when Parliament reconvenes.
“For as long as the Government has that status,” Greenidge said, “any agreement that the Government signs with them will be reopened.”
However, the President was firm in his response. “I am the Government; Mr. Greenidge is not!” he said.
Carl Greenidge
T
he Leader of the House and Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds, was equally succinct in his response to Greenidge’s threat. “We shall see,” he said.
The President on Monday, announced, in an address to the nation, that he had issued a proclamation to prorogue Parliament, which essentially means that the current session is suspended up to a maximum of six months – a move that is provided for in Section 70 (1) of Guyana’s Constitution.
The effect of ending a session by prorogation is to terminate business. Members are released from their parliamentary duties until Parliament is next summoned. All unfinished business is dropped from or “dies” on the Order Paper, the National Assembly’s agenda, and all committees lose their power to transact business, providing a fresh start for the next session. No committee can sit during a prorogation. Bills which have not received Royal Assent before prorogation are “entirely terminated” and, in order to be proceeded with in the new session, must be reintroduced as if they had never existed.
As a result, the Alliance For Change (AFC) no-confidence motion was not considered. The main Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) had, prior to yesterday, signalled its intent to support passage of the motion.
Had it not been for the proclamation to prorogue Parliament, if the no-confidence motion had been passed, Guyana would have been headed to early general elections within three months.
According to the Head of State, the move to prorogation was intended to pave the way for greater dialogue among political parties, while keeping the 10th Parliament alive.
However, Mr. Ramotar has made it clear that if these efforts prove futile, there will be a move to fresh general elections.
The last general elections were held in 2011.
