THE tumultuous debate that had forced Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, to adjourn and walk out of the chamber, citing ‘grave disorder,’ will resume today.

The Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Bill 2013 is piloted by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge.
The debate had initially begun in February last, before the House lapsed into a hiatus, prior to the budget debates.
The debate on the piece of legislation was never resolved.
Guyana Parliamentary Standing Orders decree that today is deemed ‘Private Members Day’, when the order of business is determined by the opposition.
As such APNU, through Greenidge, has moved to re-open the debate securing the FMA Amendments on today’s Order Paper for Debate.
The Guyana Chronicle yesterday confirmed with Greenidge that the party intends to proceed with amending the piece of legislation, given that the Speaker had ‘interrupted the session on the previous occasion.”
At the time of the debate, Former Labour Minister and current People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) MP Manzoor Nadir lamented what he called Greenidge’s effort to tinker with a tried and tested method involving the budget preparation.
Among the many proposals put forward by Greenidge, through the legislative amendments, was to have constitutional offices/bodies prepare individual budgets and have them submitted directly to Parliament for approval or disapproval.
Greenidge proposed that the Finance Ministry only be consulted on the process and format, as against decision making.
Deputy Speaker Deborah Backer had convened the sitting on February 14 last, with Trotman assuming the Chair following the mid-afternoon break.
Trotman was forced on a number of occasions, to intervene, in an attempt to restore order in the fiery debate.
He appealed to Members of Parliament on both sides of the House, emphasising the importance and ramifications of the debate, but to no avail.
“Good night…you will inform me of when you would like the next session,” were Trotman’s closing words to the Assembly as he adjourned the meeting.
At the time of the abrupt adjournment, Minister within the Ministry of Finance Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, had been defending his independence at the helm of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), as other MPs launched volleys of boisterous verbal attacks on each other.
Other speakers to the debate at the time included Minster of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, who had argued that “it is almost universal that the presentation of budget and finance issues is the sole preserve of the Executive… the issue of management of money must be of concern to the Executive.”
The debate over the course of its duration escalated in its rancour as MPs repeatedly chided, cross-talked heckled and hurled accusations.
Notable among the incidents that resulted in rapid informal tit-for-tat in the House, was as Junior Finance Minister Bishop Juan Edghill spoke, and APNUs Vanessa Kissoon called Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali a thief.
It was from that point the decorum in the chamber plunged over the proverbial cliff, leading Speaker Trotman to invoke Standing Order 47 (9).
That states…“in the case of grave disorder, arising in the assembly, the Speaker may, if he or she thinks it necessary to do so, adjourn the Assembly without question put, or suspend the sitting for a time to be named by him or her.”