Following a meeting of the Committee of Selection on September 15, the 12th Parliament has 14 fully constituted committees which will be responsible for various sectors.
These committees include the Public Accounts Committee which has oversight of public spending and the Standing Committee on Constitutional Reform.
According to the Committees Division of Parliament Office, none of these committees has yet had a meeting or elected a chair to manage its affairs.
The Public Accounts Committee which is chaired by the Opposition side of the House will include David Patterson, Juretha Fernandes, Ganesh Mahipaul and Jermaine Figueira. Members from the government’s side of the House are Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, Dharamkumar Seeraj, Vishwa D.B. Mahadeo and Sanjeev Datadin.
The Constitution Reform Committee comprises mainly of lawyers including Attorney General Anil Nandlall. He will be supported by Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr, Minister of Public Service Sonia Parag and Sanjeev Datadin.
The four opposition members are Khemraj Ramjattan, Raphael Trotman, Dr. Nicolette Henry and Amanza O.R. Walton-Desir.
Also constituted were the four sectoral committees which will have oversight of Economic Services, Social Services, Foreign Relations and Natural Resources.
The Committee on Economic Services is comprised of Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Anand Persaud, Seepaul Narine and Alister Charlie as an alternate.
The opposition members of the committee are Haimraj Rajkumar, Juretha Fernandes, Shurwayne Holder and Dineshwar Jaiprashad as an alternate.
The seven members of the Sectoral Committee on Social Services are Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Campbell-Sukhai, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud, Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran and Dr. Tandika S. Smith as an alternate for the government side of the House. Opposition members are Dr. Karen Cummings, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Sherod Duncan and Vinceroy Jordan as an alternate.
The Sectoral Committee on Foreign Relations includes Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Hugh Todd, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister Kwame McCoy, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues, Dr. Jennifer Westford, and Bhagmattie Veerasammy as an alternate from the government benches. Opposition members are Raphael Trotman, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Devin Sears and Ronald Cox as an alternate.
Meanwhile, the Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources is comprised of Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, Minister Anand Persaud, Faizal Jaffarally and Lee Williams as an alternate. The opposition will be represented by Dawn Hastings-Williams, Catherine Hughes, Deonarine Ramsaroop and Vincent Henry as an alternate.
