Dear Editor,
The headline “APNU/AFC cannot benefit from its own wrongdoing” is like a common theme where the Opposition is concerned. Just look at the aftermath of the March 02, 2020 elections and see if you get the drift. I am talking here that, in the face of recorded evidence, the Opposition continually seeks to litigate, when its members are initiators and perpetuators of some of the most egregious crimes where Guyana’s political landscape is concerned.
I see that the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall SC, is rightfully baffled by what is now taking place. I am referring to the legal proceedings filed by the APNU/AFC Coalition, challenging the passage of the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) law. Like he said, the “Opposition cannot benefit from its own wrongdoing.” I mean, this seems a trend. One only has to revisit the bucking of the No Confidence Motion and then, even now, referring to the present Government as the ‘installed’ PPP/C.
It is like a joke when I read some of the issues in the current matter. For example, “… the absence of the original Parliament Mace, during the passage of the NRF Bill in December last…,” is now an issue. We all saw, followed and recorded what took place, and what led to the disputes surrounding the Parliament Mace. The thing was grabbed, tugged, and fought over, and Opposition members sought to wreak havoc in Parliament on that occasion.
Now it is the court for them. I ask: what will the court and all Guyana see when time for ‘proof’ comes up?
Of course, as expected, the NRF Bill was passed after a series of chaotic events that erupted in the National Assembly on December 29, when it was brought up for debate.
The Opposition’s disruptions had escalated into a confrontation between some of their MPs and Parliament staff after the Mace was stolen from in front the Speaker. I mean, the evidence is there – quite vivid and incontrovertible. This time-wasting exercise should carry some heavy penalties.
I like what the AG said, that is, “…the Opposition cannot now challenge the passage of the bill when they had caused the damage…” in the first place, and were wholly responsible for it. All Guyana saw that “They (the Opposition) removed the Mace and attempted to run away with it, but in the process, they were stopped and the Mace broken – all of this was recorded – and they left the sitting.” How ludicrous and preposterous can a group of people be?
It went further, and again, the footage is there to see. It was the Opposition who actually forfeited their belonging on the occasion. The members left the Parliament after they did their damage, and as expected, when the bill was passed in their absence, they are now ‘trying a thing,’ that is: heading to a court of law.
I see that Christopher Jones, in his capacity as a Member of Parliament, is one of the persons who signed the petition, claiming that the bill was passed illegally because the Mace was not in place. A group created a raucous, sought to impede a matter, abstained from it, and its members are now crying foul.
Let me quickly go back to December 2018, when the No Confidence Motion was being voted on. Then Speaker, Dr. Barton U.A. Scotland, upended the then Government when its side tried to escape a ‘count in process’ that was going against the Government. In this current case, “A substitute Mace was used, authorized by the Speaker, Manzoor Nadir, because they, the Opposition) broke the real Mace. As pointed out, “That Mace was authorised by the Speaker and the Clerk, Sherlock Isaacs, and respected by the Assembly.
As we all know, and as pointed out by AG Nandlall, the Opposition, instead of participating in the proceedings and debating the bill, chose to disrupt the proceedings, and now wants to benefit from its own wrongdoing. This is like a big LOL.
Let me remind readers that, universally, there is the pervasive legal principle that no one can benefit from his or her own wrongdoing. So, as I see it, it is a waste of time and money to ask the courts in Guyana to declare a law ‘illegal’ just because one side of the National Assembly ran away with the Mace, breaking it, and now is seeking legitimisation.
Yours truly,
H Singh
