AFTER more than three hours of heated debate and frequent heckling from

both sides of the house, Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Raphael Trotman ruled that the Opposition’s Motion to prevent Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee from speaking in the National Assembly be referred to the Privileges Committee.
The Speaker acknowledged that while the Motion moved by Opposition Leader, David Granger and seconded by AFC’s Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, was properly before the House, he has misgivings about the due-process aspect.
The Speaker’s rulings further stated that even though the House could issue sanctions on a member, that member has a right to be heard.
“Those of us who practise law know that anyone and everyone who is accused of anything or who faces punitive sanction, has a right to be heard in his/her own defence,” Trotman said.
However, government members have been consistently questioning the grounds on which the initial ‘No Confidence’ Motion and the subsequent “gag” Motion were brought before the House; since the minister did not, on any occasion, acted inappropriately in the House nor has the Commission of Inquiry (COI), which has been established to investigate the July 18 shooting in Linden, found any evidence to date, linking the minister to that incident.
The Speaker’s ruling further stated that until the Privileges Committee’s report is completed and submitted to the House, any Bill brought to the House in the interim in Minister Rohee’s name will not be entertained. 

HEIGHT OF ILLEGALITY, UNFAIRNESS
Meanwhile, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall in a subsequent comment to the media, maintained that the Opposition’s Motion seeks to impose a sanction on Minister Rohee for an offence which he has not committed.
“In any system or any process that accords with civility…that would be recognised by law whenever a penalty is to be imposed, an offence has to be committed and due process has to be extended. All of this is being thrown aside by what was proceeded with in the National Assembly,” the AG lamented.
He said that the arguments put forward by the Opposition were essentially that they have a majority of one, which they will use; turning a blind eye to all the democratic traditions, rule of law, the Constitution, and the Standing Orders.  
He explained that the cumulative effect of these established parliamentary procedures allows  due process to take place, and the Opposition’s refusal to heed these said procedures speaks loudly of how they regard them. This,  he said, is the height of illegality and an affront to fairness and natural justice.
Asked the way forward for the Government on operation and bills, or any matter to be brought under Minister Rohee, the AG replied that the speaker of the house ruled two things as he understands it. One is that he had committed the motion to the Privileges Committee, and secondly, Minister Rohee, in the interim, will not be allowed to bring any motion or bills to the house.

He stated that he sees many things wrong with such a decision, in that you only commit to the Privileges Committee when a wrong has been committed by a Member of Parliament within the precincts of the National Assembly, and no wrong has been committed by Minister Rohee. He said that is his point ad nauseam, as he sees that aspect in the ruling as flawed.

Making mention of the second aspect of the ruling — against Minister Rohee from bringing any business to the House – he called it an unlawful prohibition of the powers that a member enjoys in the National Assembly to discharge the mandate and the will of the electorate.

He mentioned that all members of the House sit in the National Assembly because they were elected to do so, and as elected members of the National Assembly, they have an obligation to discharge the mandate and business of the people.

He lamented how the speaker had unilaterally imposed such a restriction on an elected member of the National Assembly and,  in so doing, had interfered with the right and freedom of that member to discharge his mandate, thereby frustrating the will of the electorate.

He added that an unfortunate situation has now presented itself, as Minister Rohee, who has responsibility for the security sector — Guyana Police Force, Guyana Prison Service, Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Fire Service — is being prohibited from discharging the functions of his office,  especially in the area of law enforcement. Nandlall said that with the growing crime situation in the country at the moment, which the Government is tackling, the minister with responsibility for this sector is being muted.

He noted that, naturally, what will next be seen are an increase in crime, and a decrease in the state’s capacity to enforce and maintain law and order in the country.

The AG noted that we are approaching the holiday season, and this is when an increase in security and police presence are needed in Guyana. And this, he acknowledged, is a serious indictment against the state’s ability to maintain law and order in the country.

Firearms (Amendment) Bill
 Asked about the Firearms Amendment Bill, the AG said this is a very important piece of legislation, because it seeks to bring into force a law that allows  persons who are dealing with quantities of firearms and ammunition to be charged with an offence, which now does not exist as part of the laws of Guyana.
Guyana, he said, is witnessing a high increase in ammunition and firearms’ issues. He referred to the recent arms cache find in the Rupununi, and said the bill was intended to deal with this type of offence.

He said that what now obtains in the National Assembly poses a serious setback on the ability of the state to bring the type of legislation needed to address major crimes.

Asked about the work of the Privileges Committee, the AG noted that this committee is controlled by the opposition, since their members constitute the majority on that committee.

He said his expectation of how the matter would proceed is not positive, having regard to the conduct and behaviour of the opposition in the National Assembly.

The Attorney-General said he could safely presume similar behaviour from the Opposition  will continue.

The next sitting of the National Assembly is set for Monday, 16th December, when a number of issues deferred from yesterday’s sitting are expected to return on the Order Paper.