[www.inewsguyana.com] – Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman has challenged the President’s move to reconvene the House following the Parliamentary recess which ended on October 10; saying His Excellency has no constitutional power to do so.
Trotman acknowledged that President Donald Ramotar has the power under Articles 69 and 70 to convene the National Assembly but only following a general election or a prorogation of the Parliament and not after a recess has ended.
“The annual recess that runs from August 10 – October 10 is not to be confused with a prorogation or suspension of the Parliament. Therefore, as Speaker of the National Assembly I continue to insist that it was beyond the scope of the President’s constitutional authority to set a date for the House to resume sittings after the recess,” the Speaker said in a statement this morning, Wednesday, November 05.
He reminded that the President is not a member of the National Assembly and so any pronouncements on the sittings should have been issued and articulated by the Prime Minister who is supposed to be the Leader of Government’s business in the House.
“What has not been the practice and tradition is for the President to announce when the House will resume sittings after the annual recess,” he added.
The Speaker believes the very manner of His Excellency’s announcement that the date of the “first post- recess sitting” will be Monday, November 10, clearly demonstrates that once again he has been wrongfully advised into believing that the National Assembly is subordinate to the Executive, and can dictate to it when it can meet and cannot meet, and even what it should discuss and debate.
“This is as frightening as it is tragic as it clearly demonstrates that there is not even the basic of understandings, by those who advise the President, of the three branches of Government – Executive, Legislative and Judicial, and the hallowed doctrine of the separation of powers.”
Trotman says this development does not augur well for Guyana. Last evening, in an address to the nation, President Ramotar announced that the first sitting will be on November 10.
This morning, all Parliamentarians received notices from the Clerk of the House which confirmed the sitting.
It time for a change in Government, the racist, corrupt, PPP has destroyed the social fabrics in our society and now the recent revelation which unfolded with their association of Kemraj Lall the pilot who has operating clandestine and held up by US officials with a stashed of US$620,000,00 undeclared leaves one to believe it was a drop off and pick up funds, since he has the authority to fly in and out of Guyana without security checks, he could not of done with the permission of this unscrupulous PPP Government.
I’m sorry but this just goes to confirm that the AFC politicians are clearly out of their depth when it comes to the laws governing the politics of this nation. The government is making rings around them and exposing their incompetence and ignorance on many issues. Voters the afc is like a small child learning learning to swim for the first time, or playing a new sport for the first time, is this the kind of party you want to entrust with the affairs of this country?? CRAPNU is nothing but a new name, they are still the PNC masquerading themselves offering same old politics from a different angle. Many of the persons responsible for our decline under the PNC from the 70s up until 1992 are still in the camp of CRAPNU, do you want to give them another chance to put Guyana’s economy down in the gutter again? There are so many projects that the pnc sold to foreign countries that even to this day Guyana has nothing to show for them, unless you want to use a deep hole in the ground filled with cyanide pits as one for tourism purposes!!!! Or maybe the deplorable state of our roads, I recall leaving providence at 7:30 each day and reaching Georgetown at 10:00 not because of traffic but because of how terrible the roads were. I remember going to line up for gas from republic park to providence to get gas and having to push the car until we got there for fear of running out of gas. I recall having to fetch water everyday from the well and turning on the tap when there was water and seeing it flow the color or mauby!!! Maybe you all want to experience these wonderful years again, but I surely don’t!!! Think long and hard of who has done more for this country and who has the proper training politically to do execute the affairs for our country. It’s certainly not a bunch of half decent lawyers with no political experience and it’s obviously not a group of blood thirsty, power drunk failures either!!!
a revolution, really !! are you serious ? what depravity ! so no more election then? please tell us who do you wants to act as burnham ( dictator )
Guys the first thing to do is go and vote the fools out, just how they kick them out in the past, its going to happen by the very brain dead fools like the dog tick Gray, i hope he dont line up for a visa, because nuff like gray run to the Us and Canada but the got the wick,and food stamp and see them on liberty talking shit like gray about PPP and they int lining up to live in the shit in Guyana, i sure the tick sucking gray live in canada or US ,,they will do like the pnc rig rig and more rig to stay and thief from Gray,,Sam and Musa like you guys they will lead to they own demise,,,
Peter, I echo your sentiments. A revolution is needed and we need it now. If the organization that so proudly boast of their role being to defend the Territorial Integrity of the Nation, and to Maintain Law and Order in the land, one wonders why they are reluctant to engage meaningfully in the Maintenance of Law and Order. It is quite logical to surmise that when the government of the day, through its officials; Ministers, and even the President himself, fails to uphold the Law of the Land, that organization has an obligation to step in and bring about a semblance of discipline and law and order. The time has come for the GDF to take control of the current situation in Guyana or risk being seen as a bunch of cowards who dress up and run around the place. The worst case scenario would be for a band of rebels to take over the country Che Guevara/Fidel Castro style.
Raphael, Now ! Now Boy !( As former President Hoyte would be wont is addressing Moses Nagamootoo) it is time you fade away into the sunset …. and don’t slam the door on your behind on the way out !!!!
So what now? He did and there is nothing you guys can do about it. In the mean time the 43 percent living in dire poverty continues to be void of any hope that the politicians can change their situation. This whole debacle is the same one the English faced when they had no choice but to cut all the power of the King, the Magna Carta. Simply put, the constitution of Guyana was never about the rights or strength of the people and parliament, it was about power, Burnham’s power.
Today what we see is, its use in a way only Emperors do. The President of Guyana is an Emperor, he has power to rule by decree, he has power to prorogue parliament, in other words he can rule while ignoring any parliamentary decision.
This constitution was built by Burnham to keep Burnham in power at all cost. It is now being used by power drunk people, hell bent on remaining in power at all cost, even illegally.
Now tell me, is this not a reason for revolt? If the King does not hear his people, what should they do? Guyana is now at the edge of the cliff, we either turn back or go over. The change should come now after we realise that this is no longer working, Burnham is dead and so is dictatorship. If we allow the PPP to get away with this then I can assure you, Guyana is dead.
We need a Magna Carta and we need it now, even if it’s by force, cut the power of the President, give it to the parliament which is the people’s representative. This constitution must be scrapped, it puts too much power in the hands of one man.
tratman u had no right to bugger that 12 yrs old boi…u have no right to be sitting there telling anyone about their rights..
Even I know that, and I am not even in the government. But, as I reiterated, Ramotar’s Authoritarian attitude projects, that he and only he could and should run the country. The time has come to put an end to this charade.