A motion for 22 Members of Parliament (MPs) on the government side to be sent to the Privileges Committee has been dismissed by Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir.
Speaker Nadir announced his decision today at the opening of the debates on Budget 2022 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
According to House Speaker, the motion was dismissed on two grounds: the first being that a prima facie case was not made out against the government parliamentarians and the second being that the government lawmakers cannot be liable for the illegal actions of the Opposition MPs during the infamous mace grab on December 29, 2021 during the passage of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Bill.
On December 29, 2021, several A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) MPs grabbed the Speaker’s Mace, in an effort to disrupt the passage of the NRF Bill.
Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira has since moved a motion to have eight members of the APNU/AFC parliamentary Opposition sent to the Privileges Committee.
The parliamentarians are APNU/AFC’s Chief Whip Christopher Jones, and other members, Annette Ferguson, Ganesh Mahipaul, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, and Maureen Philadelphia.
The Opposition, in turn, had moved a motion for the government parliamentarians to also be sent to the Privileges Committee – akin to a court.
According to the Parliament of Guyana website, “any matter which appears to affect the powers and privileges of the Assembly is referred to [the Privileges] Committee whose duty is to consider any such matter and to report thereon to the Assembly.”
