The A Partnership of National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP), Mr. Ganesh Mahipaul, told the People’s Progressive Party/Civic MPs their days are numbered on the Government side in the House.
Speaking in the National Assembly last Thursday after his motion to debate Justice Sandil Kissoon’s ruling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was shot down by Speaker Manzoor Nadir, the MP said he was of the opinion the Government would have welcomed the motion and debated it.
On May 3rd Justice Kissoon ruled the EPA must enforce the liability clause in ExxonMobil ‘s permits within 30 days from the ruling or risk the permits being suspended. The EPA has appealed the ruling and requested the Court of Appeal grant a stay of the High Court’s ruling until the upper court rule. The court turned down the request to stay the judgement.
Speaker Nadir in a release stated the motion was denied because the matter was subjudice. However, the Office of the Leader of the Opposition shot down the explanation. In a statement following Nadir’s, the Opposition said his explanation was unconvincing.
According to the Opposition the “response [was] unconvincing, contorted, and unbecoming of a Speaker. It further confirms[ed] the depths he would descend to serve the wishes of his political master, the PPP. That the issue of oil spill liability coverage is of urgent public importance is beyond doubt. The Speaker therefore sought to fabricate a different route to knock down the motion.”
An impassioned Mahipaul told the House, “I honestly and sincerely thought that this motion would have enjoyed the support of the Government side in this House. The fundamental reason why I believed that the Government would have supported this motion …. is because the people of Guyana will judge them soon, at elections, and they will be judged for their behaviour, especially in the most recent action, of wanting to appeal a decision that was made by Judge Sandil Kissoon to benefit all of Guyana.”
He reminded Members, the fundamental reason they are elected is to give representation to the people and put the people’s business first. “The people of Guyana have asked us to ensure they get timely response to motions and questions brought before the House,” which is a duty Mahipaul said they are obligated to discharge as the people’s representatives.
Reiterating the motion had no sinister motive, the MP told the House the motion simply sought to put timeline in place to ensure the implementation of the Judge’s ruling.
He also warned the PPP/C, given the mismanaging of the taxpayers’ money on infrastructural projects and going against the court that ruled in favour of the people on Exxon, their days are numbered sitting on the Government side of the House.
On May 29 the Court of Appeal will begin hearing oral arguments into the challenge brought by the EPA.
