Speeches in the National Assembly

MOTION FOR THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY TO 7TH AUGUST, 2013 – July 25, 2013
Ms. Teixeira: Mr. Speaker, as you are well aware there are precedents that has been set in this House long before the Tenth Parliament. In fact the points being raised now, certainly errors can be made and corrected but the fact that the Ninth and Tenth Parliament has had postponements made on the request of the Government and approved and implemented cannot be ignored. On the issue of postponements of sittings by the Government there have been six between 2006 and 2013. In 2008 14th August was postponed to a date to be fixed. These are official notifications sent out by Parliament Office with the approval of the then Speaker. The first case was 7th August, 2007 postponed to 9th August, 2007. The second case was 14th August, 2008 which I just mentioned, postponed to a date to be fixed. In a number of cases in 2008 the request was made by the Opposition to allow for more debate and time to consult and that was granted by the Government exercising its right to change the date of the sitting. Between 2007 and 2008 there was no request by the Government for postponement until 2012.
The first time in 2012 the sitting was postponed from 30th and 31st May, 2012 to 6th and 7th June, 2012. The second was 7th June postponed to 13th and 14th June. I recall these in that there were specific reasons that were given to allow for more time for consultation. Those are four instances.
The fifth one came in May this year where at the sitting the President wrote this House seeking and pleading with the House to conclude the Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill. There was actually a view presented by some Members of the Opposition that it was possible to do this. The deadline as you are aware Mr. Speaker was 28th May for Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). The Government got up on that day and stated the date for the next sitting as 28th May this year. In a letter the Prime Minister wrote the Speaker that the reason for the sitting being on 28th May was no longer relevant as when the Parliamentary Select Committee met the Opposition called for the date of 13th June for the next meeting of the select committee. Therefore that letter was approved and accepted and the date was fixed for 13th June 2013.
The second request in 2013 is the one that is causing such discomfort by the Opposition. We believe that the Government’s right to call a date and to postpone is enshrined in the areas where the Standing Orders very clearly say when the House is adjourned to a date to be fixed it is only the Government that can name that date. When a date has been set the Government is of the view that circumstances that would help to further an issue in consultations... I repeat Mr. Speaker that almost all of the six times that postponements were called, except two, they were based on the issue of trying to reach some kind of accord. They were all allowed. They did not all come about from consensus between the two sides of the House.
I have heard Hon. Member Mr. Nagamootoo and Hon. Member Mr. Granger. And it is very sad that an issue that at the last sitting reached a tie on two issues, not a negativisation, a tie on both issues – the debt ceiling and the Hydro Bill.  [Interruption] It is not my problem your people were not in their seat my dear. The Standing Order says you must be sitting in your seat when you vote.
Mr. Speaker: For the clarification of all Members, a Member who wishes to vote must be in his or her seat. That is the accepted time honoured rule of parliamentary practice.
Ms. Teixeira: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I hope the Comrade who heckled saying that I am fabricating, will reconsider his comment.
I think the most distressful comment made after the Prime Minister moved the motion, which you had originally approved and then changed for us to meet today, is the comment by the Hon. Mr. Granger, no less than the Leader of the Opposition, that there is no agreement that will be consummated in thirteen days as the Prime Minister proposes; sad. And there was the comment that there is no discussion no agreement on the paper. For the record of this House the President of Guyana called the Leader of the Opposition on 19th July to express his concern about what happened in the House on18th July and to say between the two gentlemen, I believe they exchanged some views, that there should be efforts to try to find a resolution on the Amaila Falls issue.
It is my simple opinion as a politician that has been around for a while, that when honourable men of the highest level indicate by their body language, by the subtleties of engagement that there is an opportunity for agreement, a resolution that we as simple politicians must grasp that opportunity to find resolution in the interest of our people and our country. It is the President who called the Leader of the Opposition. So we can be called delusional, we can be called all sorts of names but as the Government of this country we will always firmly believe that where we can reach consensus we will do all to do that. If that required a call for a postponement to allow us to have breathing space to have negotiators meet and talk then so be it.
Reference has been made that there has been no discussions. Again political parties engage with each other in a variety of ways, subtleties, telephone calls, in the modern days BlackBerry Messages, texts, e-mails, over a drink, and at the supermarket. These are all healthy ways of keeping us talking. If we are not talking we go nowhere. For the record of this House two people were named by Opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and on the Government side Hon. Members of this House. One is Mr. Harmon and Dr. Luncheon who meet every week on Thursday morning to discuss matters that are between the parties and trying to resolve them. [Mr. Greenidge: So what?]   So it is not true there is nothing going on. That is the point I am making. You missed the point Mr. Greenidge, as usual.
Mr. Speaker: When Mr. Nagamootoo and Hon. Brigadier Grander spoke, we did not have this. Allow the Hon. Member to ...
Ms. Teixeira: ...and therefore, going back to what the Hon. Member Mr. Granger was said, because a meeting what scheduled for this morning. And Dr. Luncheon, even before, Mr. Speaker, the letter reached your desk, Mr. Harmon was informed that this was the direction we are going in. And that, when they met today, there would be opportunities – do not let me call it anything else but opportunities – regrettably, Mr. Harmon was not available, but I understand that they are hoping to meet, hoping, hoping, to meet tomorrow. 
I have heard the Hon. Member Mr. Nagamootoo who seemed to be rather disturbed, we have disturbed his equilibrium by the fact that we have a picketing outside. I have been around where picketers right in the front here preventing Members of Parliament (MPs) form getting in this Parliament, pushing and shoving. This group back here is a peaceful protest. Since July 18th, every political party in this House have used the opportunity and their right to express their views in the media and wherever else they wish to make it else they wish to make it, including letters to the press, press releases and statements.
Mr. Speaker, I am a little bit concerned by Mr. Nagamootoo’s comments because it seems as if the Government does not have the right to send its views; we do not have the right to support our views, but that we must be quiet and take what we get. We cannot talk through fork tongue; if you are for democracy, you are for democracy, it is for everyone.
The Hon. Member went into the last Sitting and, as usual, I believe, that the Hon. Member was so busy heckling me at the last Sitting that he did not hear the report I gave. I did say that the Alliance for Change (AFC), Mr. Nagamootoo in particular, and Mr. Ramjattan, were the ones who brought the Local Government Bills into the whole equation, in the Speaker’s Office.
We all can create history, you keep your notes, I will keep mine. History is from the eyes of those who are in it.
We are calling for an adjournment to August the 7th because we believe and we have believed and I hope that Mr. Granger’s tone and what he said is not a declaration by the Hon. Member that there is no possibility of us, as he said, consummating an agreement within 13 days.
Mr. Nagamootoo referred to a stakeholders’ meeting we had this morning. There is something called a Stakeholders’ Forum, it involves over 100 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and it is chaired by the President. It has met from the time of its creation about 12 or 13 times between 2008 and now. In which the political parties have been part of it and the political parties have met separately from it. Today, the members at that meeting – the stakeholders’ at that meeting – passed the following declaration. They said the following and Mr. Speaker it is very brief, if you would allow me. As Mr. Nagamootoo opened the door on the stakeholders, I am grasping the opportunity.
“We the stakeholders in attendance at the National Stakeholders Forum, held on July 25th 2013, at the Guyana International Conference Centre representing umbrella organisations, active networks and groups of civil society, declare our unequivocal support for the Amaila Falls Hydro-Electric Project. We appeal to all policy makers to engage in constructive, sincere and meaningful dialogue in order to urgently conclude the realisation of this project.”
It called on all policy makers; that is the Opposition and the Government side. So one cannot say that it is bias and in favour of the Government or bias against the Government. These were over 300 persons representing labour, business, religious s, women, youth, Amerindian and faith based organisations
Mr. Speaker, as politicians, as Members of the Parliament elected here, we have a responsibility to our membership, to our supporters and voices of the people, who may not have voted for us or who may have voted for us. All of us sitting in this House have a moral obligation.
The people of this country want the Amaila. They want a transformity project; they want an improvement in electricity; they want an improvement in the cost of electricity in Guyana; they investors want an opportunity to expand with electricity... [Interruption]
Mr. Speaker: Okay, Hon. Members. Order!
[Members from the Opposition:] Local Government!
Mr. Speaker:  Hon. Members, Order!
Ms. Teixeira: Very good. Are you done? Mr. Speaker, the issue of us having profound differences between each other; we still have to be able to solve the problems of our country. The request of the Prime Minister to postpone the Sitting to allow for more time was to excerpt efforts, to try to find resolutions on the Bill and on the Debt Ceiling. Furthermore, in the letter of the Prime Minister says, “To restore the items to the Order Paper.” Hopefully having a safe passage through this House...   [Mr. Greenidge: Look at Standing Order No. 26.]    I do not need you to invite me on Standing Orders Mr. Greenidge. I will relate to the Speaker.
The issue of the Amaila Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill is not only about agreement between three sides; it is about bringing back the issues to this House. There was a tie and it was not negativised. We can bring it back to this House and we can bring it back with the support of all in this House.
Mr. Speaker, the linkages are there. We have already had in this House... the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill is threatened; it may not make it... [Interruption]
Mr. Speaker: One second Ms. Teixeira. What is going on? ... [Interruption]
Ms. Teixeira: I am allowed 30 minutes. Are you trying to stop us from talking?
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, Mr. Nagamootoo, quite skilfully as a politician, opened the door and spoke about terrorist statements and many other things that did not touch directly on the motion. There was no Point Of Order raised against him because as an astute politician he seized the moment and the space and he used it well. Ms. Teixeira is speaking and I ask that she be allowed the chance to speak without being insulted with references to thief and rubbish. I ask will that we conduct ourselves properly and refrain from making statements like that. If one is going to speak like that it means that you are defining who you are as well. All of us are under the microscope here. I am appealing to all Members to refrain from speaking to each other like that. All of us carry the honorific “Honourable”; all of us have earned the right to be here and that right must be respected. Thank you. Go ahead Ms. Teixeira.
Ms. Teixeira: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Granger and the President also exchanged letters this morning and I just want to read one part from the President’s letter to Mr. Granger:
“The objective of the postponement and the justification for the request by the Executive was based on the best intentions to allow good faith efforts between the Government and the Opposition to reach agreement on the way forward on Parliamentary matters relating to the Amaila Hydro-Electric Power Project.”
The other paragraph says:
“I reject the quote, which is in Mr. Granger’s letter that the Executive Branch have used usurped the authority and functions of the Speaker of the National Assembly and reaffirms that our intentions were based on the hope that we, the Government and Opposition would by way of the postponement have the time and the opportunity to continue to find a resolution on matters relating to the Amaila Hydro-Electric Power Project in order to allow it to proceed with the support of the National Assembly before the recess.”
We continue to stand by the reasons we asked for the postponed. We are disturbed by the statements of two leading Members of Opposition parties in our House today and we will reassess the situation, as we do all the time.
However, it would be remiss of any of us in this House to lose an opportunity which the Government was trying to provide for us to get together. Whether that meant that we reach agreement on all or on parts, three quarters or on none, when it behoves us, it is our responsibility. I have been around enough in politics to have seen enough of this where, at the worst of times, with violence out on the roads, in 1997, to know that in the midst of the violence, talks were going on and agreements were reached. I have been around long enough in the 2001 post-elections violence; while the violence were going on the leaders were talking.
Yes, it ended up with the Herdmanston Accord; it ended up with the St. Lucia Accord; it ended up with a Constitutional Reform, which we should all be proud of. It ended up with a Parliamentary Reform which we did not even envisage when we started in 1999.
The danger that faces this House and the danger that faces the political environment of this country is the myopic approach to politics in this country.
Mr. Speaker: Okay, one second. When in the Ninth Parliament I used that word, Mr. Lumumba took a strong objection to me using the word “myopia”.
Ms. Teixeira: I did not refer to anyone though.
Mr. Speaker: The point I am trying to make is that I do not consider it to be an unparliamentarily term, so you may proceed.
Ms. Teixeira: Thank you. I was very careful not to call anyone myopic. Quite a few of us in this room are visually challenged and are myopic, but I did not want to in any way affront anyone.
One of the dangers that face us in Guyana politically, in the political realm, is short-sightedness, an ability to know where the battles are at which time, which ones we will fight now down to the teeth and which ones we can keep on fighting and try to reach agreement on.
We are at a critical point in this country. Sir, I have said to you before and I will say it in this House that what is going on will end up with egg on everyone’s face. If this behaviour of not agreeing to the postponement or one do not like the postponement or whatever, and this view that there is nothing which we can accomplish in 13 days, then Sir, it is not only going to be the Amaila Hydro-Electric Power Project that is going to be lost; it is not only the Government that is going to be lost, but you are going to lose. The people of this country are not stupid, they are extremely intelligent. They understand. [Interruption]
I thank you. Just to sum up. Precedents have been set in the Parliaments long before me. There is a little booklet I came across today, which I did not know that the former Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Frank Narain, was writing. He tells a little story, it is anecdotal, but it has archival material from the Parliament. The story is of a calling of a Parliamentary Sitting in 1972; an interesting debate, an interesting issue.
Parliamentary issues and Parliamentary reform – many are written in the Standing Orders. We went the Parliamentary revision of Standing Orders in 1992, 1997, 2005, 2010 and we have made amendments in this Parliament with other amendments. As we go along, we learn and we change, but the prerogative of Government to postpone a Sitting...   [Mr. Greenidge: That is your prerogative.]    There is such a prerogative; it may not be in the Standing Orders. Just as the Government when a date has not be fixed can name a date without consultation with anyone, it can also, based on not frivolous issues.
Mr. Speaker, you and everyone will be in their absolute right to criticise the Government, if we have said and written to you, Sir, to just postpone. However, we have put the reasons, which we think are laudable and in the National interest, in the interest of our country and where we believe that as hold onto the oath that we can still find a resolution.
I therefore support the Prime Minister and I call on the Opposition, as I do every time, to support us in moving in this direction. Thank you. [Applause]