…replica mace was used in the absence of the original seized Parliament staff
By Svetlana Marshall
Amid contention that the highly controversial Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Bill was not passed during Wednesday’s chaotic sitting of the National Assembly, the Speaker, Manzoor Nadir, in an attempt to set the record straight, confirmed that it was.
“I want to make it pellucid that the Bill was passed lawfully, legally, last evening in the National Assembly,” the Speaker told reporters during a press conference at the Public Buildings on Thursday.
In defending the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change’s position that the Bill was not legally passed, Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, in a late night statement on Wednesday, contended that the Mace, which is the symbol of authority and must be present during the passage of Bills, was not present.
But the Speaker, while acknowledging the significance of a Mace during the sitting of the National Assembly, told reporters, that when the Mace was seized by Opposition Members of Parliament, a replica was used, as such, the Bill was legally passed.
“Last evening when the Mace was violently removed by Members of the Opposition…we had a replica Mace,” Nadir disclosed.
He said it is not unique for Parliaments to have two Maces in place. “I will say here that in many large Parliaments in the Westminster System, especially the United Kingdom and Canada, they have two Maces, they have two Maces. We have two Maces also,” he said.
The Speaker said the “smaller mace” which was temporarily used on Wednesday night, is an exact replica of the original Mace that was presented to Guyana when it became independent.
“So the Mace was in place,” he iterated.
The Opposition Leader had also contended that at the time of the vote, the Government MPs were not in their seats, in particular Prime Minister Mark Phillips, as required by the Standing Orders but this was also refuted by the Speaker, who said before the Bill was put to a vote, almost all of the Government MPs were seated.
“So let it be pellucid that the two ingredients necessary for the lawful passage of Bills, Motions, in the National Assembly, were present – the Mace was in place and the vote was taken while the majority of members were in their seats,” the Speaker said.
But the Opposition is maintaining that the Bill is null and void. Harmon said in its quest to pillage and plunder the Natural Resource Fund, the Government is contending that the NRF Act of 2019 Act is repealed, but, it was not “repealed”.
“What is alarming, is that the Speaker who should know better was complicit in this gross violation of the Standing Orders, Principles and Conventions associated with the good conduct of Parliamentary affairs,” the Opposition Leader said.
But the Government, in a late night statement on Wednesday, said the 2019 Act was “successfully repealed.
“The Natural Resources Fund Bill, No. 21 of 2021, was passed in the National Assembly of Guyana on December 29th, 2021 despite the Opposition’s despicable and reprehensible behaviour to block its passage in the Parliament,” the Government said.
It said the Natural Resources Fund Bill will ensure the security, transparency and accountability that Guyanese need in order to benefit from the oil and gas revenues. “The Bill provides for a governance structure of how these monies will be used with continuous public disclosures, audits and Parliamentary approvals,” it said.
Like the Speaker, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government said when the vote was called its Members were seated, and importantly, the Mace was in place.
“The APNU+AFC Coalition and the rest of the opposition Members of Parliament should examine the video footage and other recordings of the events in the National Assembly that prove that the Natural Resources Fund Bill was lawfully passed and is now binding and legal,” the Government said.
The National Assembly descended into chaos on Wednesday, when calls by the Opposition to have the NRF Bill sent to a Select Committee were rejected. In protest, the Opposition MPs chanted, whistled and even removed the Mace in an attempted to block the passage of the Bill but this did not stop the Speaker or the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh from proceeding with the passage of the Bill.
