Parliamentary trials, tribulations and failures in 2013

While Guyana’s legislative framework of governance has not broken any new ground in 2013, many lessons were learnt and significant rulings made, and in some instances, the House sank even deeper in uncharted waters.

The year commenced with a promising start to the legislative agenda, with the House’s first sitting which was convened on January 3. This resulted in both Government and opposition parties:  the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) reaching consensus to legislate amendments to the Music and Dancing Licences Act, the Sexual Offences Act, and the Deeds and the Commercial Registry Authority Bill.

Parliament Building

More budget cuts

In March, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh presented the country’s largest budget of $208.8B, under the theme, ‘Overcoming Challenges Together, Accelerating Gains for Guyana’.  As previously threatened, the combined parliamentary opposition effected cuts of $31B to the yearly estimate, removing in many instances, entire allocations from their intended state agencies.

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh presenting the 2013 National

Budget

These include $5.2B from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL); the entire allocation of $1.25B towards the Specialty Hospital Project; the entire Transport Programme of $5.63B under the Ministry of Public Works; expenditure for the Government Information Agency (GINA) and the National Communications Network (NCN), and the Low Carbon Development Strategy Programme’s $20B, which was reduced to $1B.

Government is seeking to get a final court ruling on the 2012 budget cuts case which is ongoing, and which will inform the 2013 cuts.

Ruling against Gag Motion

In February, Speaker of the House, Raphael Trotman restored full parliamentary privileges to Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, returning to him the right as an elected member of the National Assembly to speak in the House. This ruling in effect brought to an end, a parliamentary opposition imposed-ban.

National Assembly in session

Unconstitutional Bills

In yet another challenge to the Constitution and the Executive, the Opposition used its combined majority to legislate a Bill to repeal the Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act of 2009. The Government was of the view that this Bill was unconstitutional, unreasonable, unacceptable and vindictive for the following reasons:

The constitution guarantees a past president a pension which is equivalent of seven – eighths of the current President’s salary. This Bill on the other hand, is in contravention of Article 142 (1) of the constitution, which prohibits the taking away of property compulsorily without prompt payment of compensation. It is also in violation of the Status of Children Act of 2009, as it only makes provisions for natural born children of former presidents.

The Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) (FMAA) Bill of 2012, was also passed by the Opposition. The principal FMAA Act has a schedule which consists of agencies whose financial business and procedures are governed by the said principal Act. However, this Bill cumulatively seeks to remove these agencies from the sphere of Executive influence and to give them financial autonomy.

Assent

Article 170 of the constitution confers on the President, the power to either assent or withhold his assent to a Bill. President Donald Ramotar withheld his assent to the Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Bill of 2012, the FMAA Bill of 2012 and the Local Government (Amendment) Bill. The latter increased the powers of the Commission far beyond the powers granted by the Constitution, rendering the Bill ultra vires, and in violation of the Constitution.

The other three Local Government Bills which include: the Fiscal Transfers Bill 2012, Municipal and District Councils (Amendment) Bill and the Local Government Commission Bill received the President’s assent.

Amaila Hydro project

By far, the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project has been one of the most contentious issues in the life of the Tenth Parliament, because of continued non-support from the Parliamentary Opposition benches, for what is the most important socio-economic project in the nation’s history.

The introduction of the Hydro Electric Power (Amendment) Bill, began the battle for the approval of two aspects of the project, beginning with conferring on the President the power to create hydro-electric offset reserve areas, and for the conservation and preservation of the environment and eco-system surrounding hydroelectric sources. There was also an accompanying motion that requested the raising of the debt ceiling, for the implementation of the project, from $1B to $150B.

Leader of the House, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds making

a presentation

In a July presentation, both Bill and accompanying motion were defeated by the combined opposition. However, on their subsequent re-tabling, both were successful, with support from the AFC party, which stipulated an amendment to the required debt ceiling to $50B.

Rather than this ray of light brightening hopes for the full re-awakening of the opposition parties to the national importance of this groundbreaking project, both parties refused a request by investor Sithe Global, for their parliamentary support of this project. This anti-national position resulted in a withdrawal of participation by this firm, thereby bringing this very important national development initiative to a halt.

Socio-economic wellbeing put at risk  

The outright refusal of the opposition parties to support legislating the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLCFT) (Amendment) Bill in November, has been another example of misuse of the combined parliamentary opposition vote. Even though every available data relevant to the proposed amendments was made privy to the opposition, and the referral of the Bill to a select committee at the opposition’s request; Guyana being granted a reprieve for failing to comply with the deadline; and given further time for final legislating compliance – these two parties remained intransigent. Even the pleas of the government and nation’s key economic and financial institutions were ignored.

It has been an extremely painful issue for the government, given the untold consequences that the nation now faces, especially against the background of a Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF’s) public statement, requesting member states under its jurisdiction to take necessary measures to protect themselves from the risks of doing business with Guyana.  The resulted has been Guyana being blacklisted.

CAFTF also warned that if the identified deficiencies are not satisfactorily rectified, namely, the approval and implementation of the required legislative reforms, by the next Plenary Meeting, by May 2014, then Guyana will be referred to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) International Corporation Review Group (ICRG).

The Government side of the House at a press conference

following the Opposition’s voting down of the Hydro- electric

power (Amendment) Bill and the debt ceiling Motion in July

Re-tabling rejected Bills

In December, the Government re-tabled the AML/CFT Bill, the Firearms (Amendment) Bill and the Evidence (Amendment) Bill, all of which did not find favour with the Opposition when they were initially presented.  The latter two were re-tabled by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall instead of the subject Minister, Clement Rohee, with whom the Opposition refuses to cooperate.

On December 20, the Opposition again voted for the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill to be sent to a select committee. It should be mentioned that the AFC is demanding the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) in exchange for its support for the AML/CFT Bill; while the APNU wants to make amendments where it sees fit, a process that has so far been nebulous.

Financial Papers

Financial Papers One, Two and Three of 2013 were approved with amendments. Amendments were made to Paper One and Three which sought approval for sums totalling $3,384,528,708 and $7,737,984,510 respectively, were amended, while Paper Two totalling $1,261,596,480 was approved in its entirety.

During the debate, the Finance Minister was heavily criticised for taking the sum of $217,194,998 from the Consolidated Fund to finance the operations of NCN and GINA.

New bills

The Procurement (Amendment) Bill 2013 was debated on December 19, but its second reading has been pushed back for another six months by which time the Government is hoping to arrive at consensus with the Opposition. The Bill seeks to modify section 54 of the Procurement Act of 2003, by deleting sub-section 6, which by doing so, will retain Cabinet’s involvement in the procurement process.

The Summary Jurisdiction (Procedure) (Amendment) Bill 2013 was also tabled, seeking to amend section 8 (2), Cap.10:02, to allow a person who is issued with a traffic ticket for an offence to pay the prescribed penalty at any magisterial district.

The Wildlife Import and Export Bill is another new piece of intended legislation that was tabled in the House.