Dear Editor,
In every country’s Parliament or Congress, there is one person who is elected by his/her peers to take on the role of the Speaker of the Chamber. According to the World Bank, the Speaker’s role is to do the following:
Allow all Members of Parliament or Congress to freely express their views in a decent manner;
• ensure that each member adheres to the rules of debate, that is, as required by the Standing Orders of the House;
• regulate the time allocated for each member to speak and ensure that parliamentary time is not wasted;
• rule on any dispute as to the procedure to be followed by members of the Chamber. In this new dispensation where the PPP is a minority government, it is most unfortunate that Speaker Raphael Trotman has allowed the PPP to operate like a majoritarian government in Parliament. Some of his rulings did not sit well with the opposition. For example, he has allowed Minister Rohee to speak after the no confidence motion against him. His decision to allow Pyria Manickchand to speak without apologizing to APNU MP, Mr Jaipaul Sharma clearly shows that he is not impartial. His track record as speaker reveals that he has often ruled in favour of the PPP and less for the majority opposition. But Mr Trotman is not the only player in this charade that takes place in the chambers of the Guyana Parliament. The whip of the majority opposition, Ms Amna Ally, and the Leader of the Opposition, Mr David Granger have not adequately represented the interests of the people. They continue to squander the opportunities accorded to them to represent and protect the interests of the masses. How can they sleep well knowing that Mr Jagdeo receives the equivalent in excess of $3 million per month in pension and seniors have received a meagre increase of $625.00 per month? By not sanctioning the Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh for spending billions of dollars that were not approved by Parliament the opposition has collectively reduced themselves to political futility on the issue. When are they going to stand up and demand more accountability from the minority PPP regime? We commend APNU MP Carl Greenidge for his courage but it is clear that the combined opposition does not have the political spine to do battle with the PPP. And therefore we believe that Mr Moses Nagamootoo’s call for the consideration of a vote of no confidence against the Government of Guyana which is in accordance with Section 106 (6) of the Guyana Constitution will die a natural death, further emboldening a much weakened PPP to ride the majority opposition for two more years.
Yours faithfully,
Asquith Rose
Harish Singh
