Speaker rejects request by committee to convene public fora
While stating that a public forum does not appear to be appropriate to be conducted by a parliamentary sectoral committee, Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland on Monday rejected a requested by the Economic Services Committee (ESC) to hold these in several communities to discuss the sugar industry.
The Committee had requested approval from the Speaker since May 31 for the public forums to be conducted in several regions starting from June 7.
However on Monday, Scotland in a letter to Clerk of Committees Letta Barker stated that while the standing orders of the National Assembly provide for a wide latitude to the various parliamentary sectoral committees to allow them to carry out their mandate, “a public forum such as I understand the meaning which the word imports does not appear to be appropriate to be conducted by a parliamentary sectoral committee.”
“I therefore disallow the request and withhold my consent for the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Services to conduct public forums under the cover of the National Assembly.”
He added however that, “it is possible that given the request now made by the committee, the standing orders as presently requested are inadequate. That may be a ground for the further examination of the relevant standing orders….”
Chairman of the ESC Irfaan Ali when contacted on Tuesday said that the Committee cannot understand why the request to visit several communities was rejected by the Speaker. “It is distasteful that anyone would try to change the factual position as it relates to these outreaches…We cannot understand why the committee cannot go into these communities to hear from stakeholders. It is a hearing for us to take evidence, listen to families, stakeholders…” Ali said.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in a release on Monday had said that a decision was made by the committee to hold public forums to meet with various stakeholders in several communities and to hold discussions on the future of Guysuco.
According to the PPP, the denial by the Speaker is another attack on Parliamentary democracy. “Further, we view the rejection of this request, as nothing short of an abuse of power and an undue interference with, and restriction of, the democratic right of Parliamentarians to properly represent their constituents and the reciprocal constitutional rights of these constituents to receive information from and exchange views with their elected representatives,” the release said.
The committee had planned to go to regions three, four, five and six.