[www.inewsguyana.com] – The stage is set for the ceremonial opening of the nation’s 11th Parliament which begins at 14:00 hrs on Tuesday, June 10. Externally the lawns, forecourt and general surroundings have been given a facelift, courtesy of the Guyana Horticultural Society, the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown and many volunteers.
The Horticultural Society basically volunteered its services towards the beautification of the area because part of its mandate is to foster an aesthetically pleasing environment, the organisation’s Vice President Cecelia McCalmont said.
“This is an opportunity, with this new clean-up fervour to get that aesthetic environment, it’s part of the idea to get Georgetown back to being the Garden City of the Caribbean, and this is one of the ways in which we thought we could help.”
A special touch will be the planting of flowers in the shape of the Golden Arrowhead, Guyana’s National Flag. This McCalmont hopes will be maintained, as “part of the problem in this city is the lack of maintenance, and we are hoping that once we do this job, it will be kept up.”
Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green spoke of City Hall’s input and also its appealing to persons to respect the revamped surroundings. She stated that “We are appealing to citizens that when they use these pavements, they use them properly. No littering, no loitering, no hanging of bags on the fence and so.”
She added that efforts are underway to relocate the present bus park, and vendors on the southern side of the Parliament Buildings. She explained that,
“This is the highest decision making forum (Parliament), and it must be so respected.”
The 11th Parliament will formally begin with a Proclamation summoning the session, followed by a roll call by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Sherlock Isaacs. This will be followed by the election of the Speaker of the House, as well as the Deputy Speaker.
Other Members of Parliament (MPs) will then take their Oath of Office, and after the swearing in ceremonies are completed, the day’s business will be read out by the House Speaker.
There will be a short recess around 15:00 hrs. (3 pm) to cater for the Arrival of President David Granger, who will address the National Assembly, after inspecting a ceremonial Guard of Honour, on the forecourt of the Parliament.
The President’s address is expected to set the tone of the National Assembly. The widely felt view is that going forward, the President is likely to continue stressing on the need for unity and cooperation to advance the development of the nation and its citizens.
The first sitting of the National Assembly is strictly invitational and will not be open to the public. However, the day’s proceedings will be streamed live, via the internet, and shown on two large screens on the eastern and western sides of the Parliament Buildings.
Tents and chairs will also be set up on the forecourt where persons can follow the proceedings as they occur in real time in Chambers. [Extracted and modified from GINA]
a proud day for all guyanese-a professionally executed opening of the 11th parliament….really enjoyed watching from UK
First order of business, Investigation into what happened to the 500 billion the world bank has reported missing during the “regime” of the last Administration. The missing 154 million from Guysuco, the millions of dollars of sports equipment from Cliff Anderson sports hall. These offenses were against the citizens of Guyana, you MUST make this a priority. If you have to get International help, do it.