FOR their involvement in desecrating the Speaker’s Mace in December 2021, eight members of parliament from the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) are likely to face suspension, according to a media report referencing the Privileges Committee’s investigation.

During the debate on the Natural Resources Fund Bill in December 2021, chaos broke out at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal where the National Assembly was sitting.
The MPs include Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones and the coalition’s MPs, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Annette Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Ganesh Mahipaul and Maureen Philadelphia.

On December 29, in a bid to defend the landmark Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Bill, which has since been passed and assented to by President Dr Irfaan Ali, Senior Minister for finance, Dr Ashni Singh, stood his ground in face of what was described as ‘unparliamentary’ behaviour from members of the political opposition as they attempted to stop the passage of the Bill.

Human walls had to be formed around the Mace, and Minister Singh.
Following the mayhem in December, a motion, tabled by Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister Gail Teixeira, was passed in the National Assembly in January for the eight elected officials to be referred to the Privileges Committee for their actions which were caught on camera and live streamed across multiple social media channels.

The second reading of the bill was objected to by Jones, who asked that the bill be sent to a Special Select Committee. But Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir, then responded to say that he prefers listening to the arguments on both sides, before determining whether or not the bill should be sent to a select committee.

Minister Singh then took to the podium, but his presentation was interrupted by members of the APNU+AFC Opposition, who kept banging on their desks and chanting demeaning words about the bill.
The uproar continued for several minutes even as Minister Singh pressed ahead with his presentation.

The protest from the Opposition grew, as the Opposition MPs, armed with placards, converged at the centre floor of the dome of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where the National Assembly is being held.
Ferguson went a step further to steal the Speaker’s Mace; she was immediately joined by some of her other colleagues.

This unprecedented act was foiled by a clerk of the House, who managed to secure the instrument, to which he held on tightly as he laid on the floor of the conference centre.
The entire ordeal was caught on video.
The Privileges Committee report must now be tabled in the National Assembly.