The opposition’s move for a no confidence motion in Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, at today’s sitting of the National Assembly is precipitous and unconstitutional, according to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, as the Constitution of the land states how a minister can be removed from office. The opposition has now turned to blaming the minister for the Linden deaths even though the police have reported that no political directive was given for their actions during the July 18 clash between themselves and the protestors that left three dead, and the minister himself has stated that he has a clear conscience and had no hand in whatever actions the police took.
Speaking on the National Communications Network on a discussion programme, accompanied by Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn, and which focused on the Linden situation, Minister Nandlall stated that the motion is predetermining and pre-empting the mandate and the remit of the Commission of Enquiry which is being set up, because it is simply determining that Minister Rohee is somehow responsible.
“Not because a person is a minister and an agency which falls under him commits an error, let us assume that an error was committed on the part of the police, that ipso facto renders the minister to be at fault.”
The Attorney General stated that the law certainly doesn’t operate like that and therefore, to move such a motion or to adopt such a posterior, is clearly pre-emptive and on that basis it is a precipitous posture to adopt.
If that motion unfolds today in the National Assembly, he said he will, as Attorney General be placed again in the invidious position of stating that the National Assembly is acting unconstitutionally and ultra-vires and is arrogating unto itself powers and jurisdiction and functions which it does not have and cannot perform.
“The constitution of our country, which is the supreme law of our land, provides specifically how a minister of the government who sits in the National Assembly can vacate office, and it lists several grounds. The president can revoke his appointment; the minister must be convicted of a criminal offence; or the minister is insane or the Minister resigns. These are the subject of express provisions of the constitution of our country, so we don’t have to speculate on what grounds a minister can be removed.”
‘No confidence’ by the Parliament is not one of them, Minister Nandlall stated.
“Further, if the leader of list recalls that minister, then the recall legislation can be used to remove him. There is no way that a minister can be pushed out of office by the Parliament on the ground that he does not enjoy the confidence of Parliament. For the simple reasons outlined, the minister enjoys office due to the confidence which is reposed in him by the president. It is the president that appoints him and only the president can dis-appoint him. A minister does not hold office at the pleasure of Parliament, so this talk about moving a motion in the National Assembly again, it is people using the situation of Linden, using the tragedy of the people of Linden, and riding on the back of that tragedy to pursue, persecute, and prosecute their own political agenda,”  the AG stated.