Mixed reviews of 1st anniversary of the 12th Sitting of the House
The main parliamentary opposition has listed the alleged abuse of one of its members of parliament, the illegal sitting of two parliamentary secretaries as well as a biased and partisan Speaker of the House as reasons the 12th sitting of the House has been a disappointed.
“The Speaker has, without basis or merit, refused to allow debate on matters of national importance and urgency,” Joseph Harmon, Leader of the Opposition said. The Opposition had tried to get motions on spread of COVID-19 and the flooding disaster tabled in the House but all were denied by Speaker Manzoor Nadir.
‘The Speaker has demonstrated repeated partisanship in the manner in which he has presided over the National Assembly,’ the Leader of the Opposition said, ‘He has wrongfully suspended Opposition Members of Parliament for minor indiscretions and for insisting upon their rights, while condoning the lewd and atrocious conduct of the PPP MPs.’
Harmon in his statement said on the first anniversary of the 12th Parliament of Guyana, ‘there is little to celebrate but much to bemoan.’
‘The PPP’s parliamentary agenda has been lazy, ad hoc and arbitrary. Parliament was effectively prorogued for four of the past twelve months when absolutely no work was done and no sitting was held.’
Meanwhile, the Parliament of Guyana in two social media posts congratulated Speaker of the National on his first year in office and list of initiatives undertaken by the National Assembly. In its year of review, the Parliament said it held 31 sittings, passed 2 budgets and more than 20 acts with some 90 questions being approved by the Speaker.
