President Dr Irfaan Ali deplored the unseemly behaviour of the APNU/AFC Opposition Members of Parliament last Wednesday when they resorted to violent threats and intimidation in the National Assembly to stop the passage of the Natural Resource Fund Bill whose virtues they feared.
In objection to the passage of the NRF legislation, coalition MPs began protesting the National Assembly and this escalated into confrontation between some Opposition members and Parliament staff after one of the MPs snatched the Parliament Mace from in front of the Speaker. Despite a series of chaotic and disruptive events, however, the NRF Bill was eventually passed and has since been signed into law.
But according to President Ali, the contempt to seize the Speaker’s Mace – the symbol of his authority over the conduct of the Assembly – and to surround the Minister of Finance, shouting in his face was “gross unparliamentary behaviour that carried a dire warning.”
He noted that the Opposition’s “undignified actions” in the National Assembly was not only a violent assault on democracy but a blatant disrespect for the highest law-making institution in Guyana.
“If persons charged with the responsibility for the conduct of the nation’s business resort to violence and intimidation, what example do they give to the nation, especially to the young? Our nation must not be hobbled by those trapped in a culture of violence and intimidation whose only contribution to the national debate is physical confrontation,” the President contended in his New Year Address to the Nation.
According to the Head of State, “They do not regard politics as a contention for better policies and governance; they regard politics as nothing more or less than a battle for power. That is why we had the display in the National Assembly of violence and intimidation – that is their default strategy; to whip up antagonism and hostility based on misrepresentation, misbehaviour and mischief. My brother and sisters, that is their game. Your Government will not play it.”
The President went on to rubbish the coalition’s claim that the bill was unilaterally passed to give the Minister of Finance excessive power over the National Resource Fund, which is now under the supervision of an independent and nationally accountable body.
The NRF legislations, which repealed but still contains some of the provisions in the APNU/AFC Act that was passed in January 2019 just weeks after the Government fell to a No-Confidence Motion, caters for the establishment of a Board of Directors to manage the oil monies in the Fund.
President Ali stated that had his Administration wanted to steal from the NRF, it would not have repealed the coalition’s legislation and would have left the Finance Minister in control with little or no oversight.
“What your democratically elected Government has now done is to remove the Minister of Finance from having such unlimited and unbridled power. Instead, we have created a governance and operational structure that is transparent and accountable and in which non-political, highly reputable persons carry out the responsibilities of supervision and compliance. In essence, the powers of oversight and control are with you – the people,” he posited.
The Head of State also sought to clarify that while he is obliged to sign the letters of appointment for the Board members, he will not be unilaterally appointing or controlling them. He explained that the Board will include a person selected by the National Assembly after consultation and debate among themselves. It will also include representation from the Private Sector, which gives a voice to civil society in the newly established decision-making body responsible for overall management of the Fund – something which he noted did not exist under the APNU/AFC bill.
“The Opposition brawl in the National Assembly was to prevent you from hearing all this,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, President Ali said his Government is cognisant of Guyanese’s expectation to see benefits from the NRF flow to them to improve their lives now and deliver more jobs and better wages.
He reassured that the approximately US$534 million in the NRF will and must be spent on their welfare and wellbeing.
“It is for that reason that the new legislation provides a mechanism by which the Parliament will approve the transfer of funds for projects and programmes that the Government has to carry out to raise your standard of living, to improve your circumstances and to give you a better life. And, I add, has to account for every cent of that money. When transfers are made, to what department, for what purpose, and the results of the spending – all have to be made public. It has to be audited, the audited report has to be presented to the National Assembly and of course the PAC will have a chance to review the Auditor General’s report,” the Head of State outlined.
Nevertheless, the President posited that the Opposition parties fear that if the PPP/C Government delivers the development, the betterment, the advancement Guyanese want and deserve, then they might become irrelevant.
