questions why he neglected to exercise his authority to push the Bill
Although Prime Minister Moses Nagamotoo has said that the blame should not be placed solely at the feet of the coalition Government but the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Constitutional Reform, political analyst Ralph Ramkarran has a different view.
He said in his weekly column, Conversation Tree, that no member has apparently requested the Chair, Attorney General Basil Williams, to convene a meeting of the Standing Committee for Constitutional Reform to discuss the Constitution Reform Commission Bill.
“The failure of the Standing Committee to conclude its consideration of the Bill – which it has had since July 2017, when it was tabled in the National Assembly and
had its first reading – suggests that the Parliament’s business, and hence that of the nation, is being neglected or worse, being hindered by the Committee,” Ramkarran, a former Speaker, observed.
The Standing Committee for Constitutional Reform was set up for the purpose of continually reviewing the effectiveness of the working of the Constitution and making periodic reports thereon to the National Assembly, with proposals for reform as necessary.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Constitutional Reform consists of: Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, Education Minister Nicolette Henry, Public Service Minister Rupert Roopnaraine, Opposition Member of Parliament Adrian Anamayah, Opposition MP Priya Manickchand and Opposition MP and former Attorney General Anil Nandlall.
According to Nagamootoo, the Bill was referred to the Parliamentary Committee two years ago and the Committee has only met once. He noted that the Committee was supposed to look at the document and report back to the National Assembly, but nothing has come out of it.
“I have never heard any calls, not even from the Opposition, for this committee to meet and without the Commission, there can be no constitutional reform,” he said recently, stating that he remained hopeful that the Committee would make serious considerations of the Bill.
But Ramkarran said that the Prime Minister was not powerless and under the Constitution of Guyana, he is the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly. “If a Bill in his name is before the Standing Committee for Constitutional Reform, and there is delay in considering it, he cannot pass the buck. He cannot blame the Committee,” he asserted.
The former House Speaker further argued that as Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business, Nagamootoo has the authority to direct Williams to
