By Ralph Ramkarran, Speaker of the National Assembly
In March 2008, Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh objected to a motion moved in the National Assembly by Mr Winston Murray, the Shadow Finance Minister, which sought to impose a limit of $10 million on the aggregate of debt obligations that may be forgiven, postponed or reduced by the minister without the approval of the National Assembly in any fiscal year. Dr Singh argued that consent of the cabinet was required for a motion of this kind and that the Speaker should not have accepted the motion. He sought to make a speech in Parliament to this effect (the text of which was published in the Guyana Chronicle on March 28, 2008) but which was disallowed by the Speaker.
In this article Mr Ralph Ramkarran, the Speaker of the National Assembly, argues the case for accepting the motion which he submits does not fall within the contemplation of Article 171 of the Constitution which was relied on by Dr Singh.
The struggle for parliamentary supremacy
The struggle for parliamentary supremacy over the sovereign in England was long and bitter and cost nine speakers their lives by beheading. The background to this history was the clamour of the rising classes for more power in decision-making and to displace a class already exercising power. The Magna Carta of 1215 resulted from a struggle between the barons and King John over his unilateral attempt to impose taxes to raise much needed funds to pay for the war with France in which he had been defeated. Apart from its other provisions, the most famous being the writ of habeas corpus which survives to this day, the Magna Carta established a committee of barons with certain powers over the King, this being the first attempt at establishing something akin to a parliament.
The best known period in this history is the Cromwellian revolution in the first half of the 17th century during which Charles 1 was beheaded. The dispute arose as a result of differences between the King and Parliament about their respective rights to impose taxation. As in 1215, the issue of taxation masked a far deeper struggle, on this occasion between the emerging mercantile class and the aristocracy. This revolutionary period in British history gave rise to one of the most famous incidents in parliamentary history, which has inspired speakers down the centuries. Parliament had passed a law in 1642 giving its members control over ministers. Charles ordered the arrest of five members who promptly escaped. When Charles enquired of the whereabouts of the men from Speaker William Lenthall, he famously replied: “May it please Your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as this House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here; and humbly beg Your Majesty’s pardon that I cannot give any other answer than this to what Your Majesty is pleased to demand of me.” After this loss of control of parliament, Charles began to make preparation for war against the parliament which resulted in the Civil War. William Lenthall continued as Speaker, participated in the Civil War, and died of natural causes in 1662.
