THE Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly Bill 2012, No. 8/2012, tabled in the National Assembly by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP), Volda Lawrence on August 9, 2012, was Monday sent to a Parliamentary Select Committee for review.
The bill intends to set out the

responsibilities and authority of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly of Guyana, and to provide for the establishment and administration of an independent Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Government MP, Anil Nandlall had objected to the bill in writing to the Speaker, stating that the draft bill “violates the letter and spirit of Articles 57, 158 and 171 of the Constitution of Guyana”. He urged the National Assembly not to proceed with the bill and stated that if this was done, government would not lend its support.
Ruling on the objection by letter, Speaker Trotman acknowledged that the bill does in fact directly touch on some Constitutional provisions. He also noted that the National Assembly, as well as the President of Guyana has a fiduciary duty to ensure that all bills meet the constitutional qualifications. As such, he proposed that the issues and concerns raised by the Attorney General could be best examined by the Select Committee.
When the APNU MP rose for the second reading of the bill, she acknowledged that the constitutional issues could be addressed by the Select Committee.
Nandlall reiterated his objections to the bill and the ruling of the Speaker, stating clearly that the bill was unnecessary and unconstitutional. He stated further that government was not prepared to support any bill which was in breach of the Constitution, violative of government’s policies, could not be supported financially, and which was unnecessary.
He also pointed that while the bill sought to enforce responsibilities and authority of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, at no time did it identify any issues regarding the current functioning and competency of the Parliament Office and its support staff.
The Attorney General also pointed out in his arguments that the bill as presented sought to relegate responsibilities allocated to the President of Guyana under the Constitution, to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.
He also reinforced his argument by detailing the facts stated in the Constitution of Guyana that the position of the Clerk of the National Assembly is a Constitutional post and the bill sought to duplicate functions which have already been addressed in the Constitution, thus diluting the powers and responsibilities of the President.
Alliance for Change Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, rising to support sending the bill to the Committee, stated that his party had been waiting for 15 years to ensure that the clerk and the deputy had certain powers and that they (the AFC and APNU) would ensure that the bill is corrected and passed.