…PPP wants to psychologically harass citizens
…PM says no-confidence motion will be discussed and defeated

‘We will debate this motion, we will have this motion discussed and we will defeat it’
THOSE were the words of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo who said on Friday during a live broadcast on social media platform Facebook that the government places much emphasis on its mandate and as such, the presentation of the 2019 National Budget as well as consideration of the Budgetary Estimates will be undertaken before the opposition’s no-confidence motion can be debated in the National Assembly.

The budget will be presented on Monday, November 26, 2018 and according to the prime minister based on his calculations, the motion may be up for debate mid-December or after. “We are not running away from a no-confidence motion,” he said.

Nagamootoo said on Friday he received a copy of a letter addressed to the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) by the Clerk of the National Assembly which stated that the motion would not be considered until after the budget debate, as well as consideration of the estimates.

The prime minister said in order for a motion of no-confidence to be successful, it has to have the majority of parliamentary votes. He explained that in this case, the no-confidence motion was brought by the opposition despite the fact that they are fully aware that they hold the minority vote in the National Assembly. “It is the government that has the majority and therefore, a no-confidence motion cannot succeed. It is a no-go, it is a no-no,” Prime Minister Nagamootoo said.

“We are not running away from a no-confidence motion, we are prepared for a discussion of any such motion, but we believe that there are some issues that take precedence over such a motion.”

Prime Minister Nagamootoo noted that it was the very opposition, while in government, that chose to prorogue Parliament for six months instead of contesting the no-confidence motion when it was brought against them in November 2014. The prime minister expressed his conviction that the motion will be defeated once it is presented in the National Assembly.

No chance of succeeding
Regarding its motive, he posited that the opposition may be under the impression that the recent Local Government Elections (LGEs) have passed “some judgment “on the government, noting that the PPP may views the results of the polls as a referendum on the APNU+AFC administration. But he explained that in order to move a motion against a majority government one has to be confident that the motion can succeed. The prime minister said that the opposition wants to psychologically “harass” the population and to “frustrate” the work of the National Assembly.

He explained that in order for a no-confidence motion to pass, it must have the majority of 33 elected members of the National Assembly. “The opposition does not have that, it is the government that has 33 members who are elected and sitting in the National Assembly”, he added.

He said the PPP wants the motion to go for debate with the hope that one member of the government may abstain from the vote. He explained too that even if the vote is tied, the mover loses the motion.

“We are not afraid of debates, we are old debaters,” he said. As regards comments from the opposition that the government does not wish for the motion to be heard, he recalled that in 2014 he had tabled a no-confidence motion in August that year while in opposition and the PPP government refused to have the motion debated.

He said the parliament was supposed to resume on October 10, 2014, but no parliament was held and later, former President Donald Ramotar prorogued the National Assembly. He said at the time there was widespread “thiefing and violation of the Constitution of Guyana “and it was on those grounds that he moved the motion. “Our government has been stable government, we have been able to restore peace and public order to Guyana; we have been able to build incrementally a new face of Guyana; now we are on the cusp of an new oil-and-gas economy,” he said , adding that everyone is commenting that the country will grow.

He believes the opposition is trying to sow a picture of doom and gloom of the country and he described the move as that of the “Grinch” trying to take away the happy, festive season. According to the prime minister, the motion was born out of desperation and opposition frustration and “opportunism “to look forward to the new wealth of Guyana. The prime minister reiterated government’s confidence that the motion will be defeated.