Opposition Leader David Granger yesterday said that APNU has gotten an “explanation” from its front bencher Volda Lawrence over her hurried exit from parliament on Thursday which enabled the approval of funds for the controversial Specialty Hospital.
The explanation was in relation to what would have caused her to leave her seat during the crucial voting
and which resulted in several government spending measures being passed even though the joint opposition had intended to slash them.
Last Friday at a press conference, Granger had said that an investigation would have been launched into the twist of events which saw government outvoting the opposition on a number of allocations brought in financial papers to the National Assembly after Lawrence said she fell ill.
However, yesterday he clarified that what he meant was that APNU would have sought an explanation from the seasoned politician and this was done.
“An explanation was sought and one was received that Mrs Lawrence was ill and that caused her to leave…there is nothing the party could do about that…she did send back for her medication…” Granger told Stabroek News yesterday.
Asked whether since an explanation was sought and received the issue is now dead, the Opposition Leader said “I would say an explanation was received.”
Lawrence at one stage left the Chamber, rushing out without the customary bow before the Speaker on entry and exit. When she later returned, she appeared disoriented and unsteady. The failure of her vote to register enabled funding for the controversial Specialty Hospital to be approved.
Speaking to this newspaper one day after the sitting, Lawrence said that for the vote on the Specialty Hospital, she was in the Chamber when the question was put for its approval or disapproval in the Committee. “I was in the room when it was put and I took ill,” she said. “I was waiting on the vote and I could not wait anymore or else I would have puked on the people around me,” Lawrence had said.
She insisted, however, that she voted against the Amerindian projects allocation of $500m and the allocation for the Ministry of Health though those weren’t officially registered as negations. “The only one I abstained from is the vote for the allocation for the Ministry of Home Affairs,” she had said.
“The [allocations for] the Ministry of Home Affairs were taken as a block vote and by the time I could speak to [Opposition Chief Whip Amna Ally] about it, [APNU MP] Annette Ferguson had already started to say no,” she sought to explain.
The allocation was presented on Financial Paper 2/2013 – Advances made from the Contingencies Fund for the period August 13, 2013 to November 5, 2013 – and covered a number of activities including office materials, rental of building, polygraph testing, training of the SWAT Unit and dietary supplies.
