AFC Leader and MP Khemraj Ramjattan yesterday expressed surprise at government’s refusal to accept the opposition’s right to amend the budget in the light of promises by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh during the last budget debates to defend those very rights, but Singh said those remarks were made in an “unprecedented atmosphere”.
Government and AFC MPs yesterday faced off in the National Assembly over whether the proposed budget cuts would be allowed after Speaker of the House Raphael Trotman, in an unprecedented move, decided that the proposal’s legality would be considered before the Committee of Supply scrutinised the estimates.
The combined opposition had last week voted to defer the consideration of the estimates to yesterday.
