Reconvening of National Assembly being discussed by Cabinet
-Norton
Government has been discussing reconvening sittings of the National Assembly, Vice Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Dr George Norton said yesterday.
Norton was at the time answering questions from the media after the conclusion of the party’s weekly press conference at Congress Place, Sophia.
Asked whether there have been any discussions as it relates to the sitting of the legislature amongst government ministers, Norton said, “There has been discussions with regards to that and at this point in time; there is no date fixed for any such sitting.”
He did not provide any further details, but also confirmed that Cabinet met once again on Tuesday and will be meeting today.
“I just want to repeat that with our interpretation and guidance from our legal experts, the coalition government has no interest, has never done so before, and would never want to go against the rule of law,” Norton said.
In a June 18th ruling, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled that the passage of a no-confidence motion against the APNU+AFC government on December 21st, 2018 was valid and that the provisions of Article 106, which speaks to elections within three months unless prolonged by a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, immediately became engaged. The article also provides that Cabinet, including the President, shall resign upon the passage of a no-confidence vote.
Cabinet has not resigned and has been meeting.
Meanwhile, Norton told reporters that the PNCR applauds President David Granger and the coalition government for “being steadfast and methodical” in ensuring that a “fit and proper” chairperson was appointed to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
“The [PNCR] wishes to welcome and congratulate Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, who over the years in her public service manifested that she is independent and a true servant of the people of Guyana. We wish her well in her new endeavour,” Norton said.
Currently, GECOM is carrying out house-tohouse registration, which the opposition PPP opposes.
Justice Singh met on Wednesday with the opposition commissioners – Bibi Shadick, Sase Gunraj and Robeson Benn – and government commissioners – Charles Corbin, Vincent Alexander and Desmond Trotman – at separate meetings.
Singh will be required to decide on whether to proceed with the ongoing registration exercise, as the deadline for elections quickly approaches.
Norton was also questioned on whether the PNCR would support any decision from Singh to scrap the house-to-house registration.
“The coalition government – that is the [APNU] and the AFC – has demonstrated to all and sundry that it is a law-abiding coalition and we would certainly take into consideration decisions made by the chairman of the commission of who we support,” he said.
Norton also said that his party takes note and calls attention to the PPP’s continued practice of stoking racial tensions to create an environment of mistrust and disunity among Guyanese and are calling on all citizens to reject
such types of campaigning, and to embrace social cohesion and national unity.
“We in the PNCR believe and are convinced that Guyana with all of its resources would not reach its true potential and embrace modernity if the old ways of ethnic polarisation is allowed to continue,” he added.
Norton further said that PPP President Candidate, Irfaan Ali, and the PPP want to take the country back to the dark days of one-party rule, poor governance, corruption, race-based politics and nepotism. However, the advent of the coalition politics has shown the citizens of the country that shared governance and national unity is the way of the future, he said.
Norton also highlighted the coalition government’s achievements over their four years at the helm of the country, singling out the 4.1 per cent economic growth last year. He added that the government assisted in signing over 220 investment agreements in agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, ICT, energy and mining, totalling $250 billion.
He further highlighted that the PNCR is proud that the government has supported young people and other dynamic individuals to establish their own businesses through access to a $100 million revolving fund.
“Around 2,727 loans and grants have been issued through the Hinterland Employment Youth Service (HEYS), Linden Enterprise Network (LEN), Micro and Small Enterprises Development (MSED), Sustainable Livelihoods and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED), Women of Worth (WOW) and People of Worth Entrepreneurial Resources (POWER) initiatives,” he added.
Norton also said that the Guyana Office for Investment, in the first half of last year, assisted 57 projects with an investment value of $10.4 billion, creating approximately 700 new jobs while the Small Business Bureau last year helped to support over 200 businesses through partial loan guarantees and grants worth around $180 million, creating 535 jobs.