THE Parliamentary Opposition yesterday played every trick in the book to prevent Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee from tabling the Firearms (Amendment) Bill for the first reading in the National Assembly, but to no avail.

At this the first sitting of the National Assembly after the two-months recess, Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, was the first to interrupt the tabling of the bill, saying that they would not permit a member in whom they have ‘no confidence’ to speak, making reference to the passage of a No-Confidence Motion against the minister prior to the House going into recess.
“I urge that this House should not proceed with any matter by a member in whom a no confidence has been expressed,” Granger said.
This position was fiercely debated by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, who said that Minister Rohee sits in the Parliament, not as a result of the confidence of the National Assembly, but rather because he was elected by the people of Guyana and appointed by President Donald Ramotar as a Cabinet Minister in the Government.
“It is not for this House to determine whether Minister Rohee should function as an elected member or not, it is a matter for the electorate of this country,” the AG reminded.
        

Attorney  General  Anil Nandlall, in a telephone conversation last night, further stated that the fact that Minister Rohee laid the Firearms (Amendment Bill) and has voted  repeatedly on several matters in the Parliament, demonstrates beyond a doubt that the ‘no confidence’ motion passed against him by the Parliament has no binding and practical effect.

Subsequent to the passage of the No-confidence Motion against the Minister, Government moved the matter to the judiciary, and members of the Opposition are fully aware of this. The case is currently pending in the High Court.
“I urge this Assembly not to take any precipitous step and to act in a manner that would prejudice the proceedings. The letter and the spirit of the Standing Orders of this Assembly must have due regard and deference to matters that are sub judice and must not take the position that can convey the impression that it is prejudging or acting contrary to a matter that is awaiting adjudication by the court,” he said.
The stand taken by the Opposition Leader was fully supported by Khemraj Ramjattan from the AFC, who noted that motions (referring to the No-Confidence Motion) brought to the House, ought to be respected.
APNU’s Basil Williams said that the censuring of a member is permissible; however, his statement was rebutted by PPP/C’s Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, who explained that the Opposition’s No-confidence Motion that was debated in the House called for the removal of the minister, and this differs from censuring.
“This does not necessarily come by way of a motion, it goes through a process which the House has in its mechanisms of privileges, and it has to be something that was done wrong in the House. So you cannot talk about censure of the minister for something that you may think he did outside of the House,” she explained.
She reminded that Guyana has a Proportional Representation (PR) system in which the constitution clearly sets out the procedures on how a minister should be appointed, as well as removed, and reiterated that, “you cannot censure a member of this House for anything you think he or she may have done outside of this House…these are very glib things being said in this House which have no substance and no precedence in the Standing Orders.”
The Chief Whip also told the House that the Commission of Inquiry (COI) which was established to deal with some of these matters, have thus far found no evidence to support the allegations that were made against the minister, and maintained that one cannot remove a member’s right to due process.  
Speaker of the House, Raphael Trotman, was left in a quandary and admitted that he was seeking advice from a Senior Counsel on the matter and stated that he could not prevent the first reading of the Bill. 
After heated arguments and heckling from both sides, Minister Rohee tabled the Bill. It seeks to amend the Firearms Act to create a new offence of trafficking in firearms and ammunition. (GINA)