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An A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Motion, which calls on the Government to cushion the impact of the rise in cost of living, has been withdrawn over a breach of the Standing Order.
It was expected that the Motion, which was tabled by APNU+AFC Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson would been debated during today’s Sitting of the National Assembly at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC), however, at the ‘11th hour,’ Ferguson was informed that the Motion was flawed.
Though the Motion was placed on the Order Paper on February 28, it was until April 12 that the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs informed the APNU+AFC MP that the Motion is in breach of Standing Order No. 25.
In a letter to MP Ferguson, one day before Wednesday’s Sitting, the Clerk wrote: “… I wish to inform you that a careful review of your motion published on Notice Paper No. 170 dated 28th February, 2022, has found that the motion contravenes Standing Order No. 25 (1) (a) (iii) and (b).”
The Clerk, in that correspondence, said the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir has since advised that the motion.
“This motion was submitted since January, 2022, long before the 2022 Budget debates and two months after, to hear this. This is totally unacceptable. I believe this is a deliberate attempt by the Government not to have the motion debated, since it will expose their mismanagement of the economy among other things,” MP Ferguson said.
In light of the substantial increases in the costs of essential food items, some of which have doubled from the pre-pandemic levels, MP Ferguson, through her Motion, had called on the Government to devise a plan to address the increases, and for every Guyanese, above the age of 18, be paid a quarterly cash grant of $200,000 to compensate for the increase in cost of living.
