THE Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Sherlock Isaacs, yesterday, refused the request from the House Speaker, Mr. Raphael Trotman, to call a sitting of the Assembly on November 6. “I responded to the Speaker,” Isaacs told the Guyana Chronicle last evening, declining to comment further on the matter.
Confirmation of the contents of his response was disclosed by the Speaker, in a statement issued last evening.
“I was formally notified by the Clerk of the National Assembly that after consideration, my request for the National Assembly to be convened on Thursday, November 6, 2014, cannot be given effect to by him because he is of the view that the Speaker lacks the authority to convene sittings of [the] National Assembly under Standing Order 8 (1) and (2),” the Speaker said.
RESPONSE TO REFUSAL
According to him, the Clerk’s response is an unfortunate one.
He said, “This is a most unfortunate position arrived at, and obviously arises out of a very narrow interpretation of the Standing Orders, and of the prevailing circumstances whereby the National Assembly entered into recess and has emerged from that recess, and a majority of members desire to meet
“…the effect of the Clerk’s decision not to convene the sitting has the effect of crippling the ability of the Members of Parliament to meet. This in itself brings the Constitution into derision and disregard and cannot be what the framers of our

Constitution intended.”
Trotman maintained his position that the National Assembly must resume sittings and cannot be bound by the “whims of the Executive branch” to have to await its consent before meeting.
He said, “Such an interpretation flies in the face of the doctrine of separation of powers, and the constitutional right of the elected representatives to meet to perform their functions.
“…as a majority of Members have indicated their desire for the National Assembly to meet, the nation is confronted with we have a clear and unvarnished constitutional crisis on our hands, and all stakeholders will have to work together to resolve it.”
DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
The House Speaker also acknowledged that this is not the first time in the 48-year history of the National Assembly that there has been a difference of opinion between the Speaker and the Clerk on the issue of convening a sitting.
However, he contends that the roles of Speaker and Clerk of the National Assembly are regulated by the Constitution and the Standing Orders.
“As constitutional officers, both are expected to work symbiotically for the National Assembly to be able to properly discharge its constitutional roles and functions. It is the duty of the Clerk to convene the sitting by making all arrangements including summoning and ensuring the attendance of Members, and the preparation and circulation of the Order Paper. The Speaker performs the role of “Presiding Officer” once the Assembly is convened; whilst the function of convening [the] National Assembly remains the sole preserve of the Clerk,” Trotman said.
OPTIONS INVITED
On this note, the House Speaker has invited suggestions from the Guyanese public on the way forward.
He said, “As the sitting Speaker I invite all well-thinking Guyanese to join me in examining all viable options and avenues to break the impasse in the interest of our beloved nation.
“In this regard I stand ready to entertain all reasonable suggestions and anticipate an early closure of this unfortunate development.”
Trotman is expected to write to the Clerk of the Assembly and the political parties represented in the House on his disagreement with the position taken.
“I will be writing to the Clerk to register my disagreement with his interpretation of the Standing Orders and his consequent position adopted. I will also so advise, in writing, as well as to the leaders of the political parties in the House,” he said.
REQUEST ON MONDAY
Trotman on Monday had proposed November 6, 2014 as the date for the next sitting of the House.
This disclosure was made in a letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly, which was copied to the House’s Chief Whips – A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Amna Ally and Government’s Gail Teixeira. A similar letter has also been sent to the Leader of Government Business, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds; Leader of the Opposition, Brig. (rtd.) David A. Granger; and Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan.
The Speaker noted that he is of the firm belief that at the last sitting of the House, on July 10, the fact that the House was adjourned to meet on a “date to be fixed” was an erroneous move. He has, however, accepted responsibility for this error.
“I am firmly of the belief that when in fact, on July 10, 2014, the House adjourned to a “date to be fixed,” this was done in error, as a date should have been fixed. And for that I take full responsibility,” he said.
Trotman added that an “open-ended adjournment” is tantamount to a violation of the constitutional mandate for the National Assembly to meet day by day.
He said, “In any event, I am also of the opinion that the adjournment to “a date to be fixed” was superseded by the event of the House entering into the annual recess on August 10, 2014.
“The next day on which the House should have met should have been Monday, October 13, 2014, as October 12, 2014 was a Sunday,” Trotman declared. He also stated that no direction from the Government or the Speaker is required to reconvene the sittings in this regard.
“Indeed, to support this view, Committee meetings have resumed without an instruction or direction having to be given. Further, when His Excellency issued the proclamation for the 10th Parliament to be summoned and to commence sittings, it was your office that convened the sittings then and every time thereafter,” he said.
On these grounds, the Speaker formally requested that the Clerk make arrangements for a sitting of the National Assembly on Thursday, November 6, 2014.
“This date will provide for the normal notice period for Members of Parliament to be notified,” he said.
Additionally, in terms of the Order Paper for the sitting, Trotman expressed the view that the agenda as of July 10, 2014 is the agenda that the House should resume with, together with any additional matters that had arisen during the recess, and subject, of course, to the requisite period of notice being observed.

(By Vanessa Narine)
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