Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 28/Oct 20:35

PNM condemns Government shutdown of Senate debate

THE Opposition has slammed the government for what it described as a premature end of the 2024/2025 budget debate in the Senate on October 27, with several senior government ministers not contributing to it. In a statement, the PNM said the debate collapsed at 9.57 pm after Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi made his contribution and Minister in the Ministry of Finance Kennedy Swaratsingh immediately jumped up to end the debate. At that time, Opposition Senators Dr Amery Browne and Foster Cummings had not yet made their contributions. On the government side, Attorney General John Jeremie, Leader of Government Business Darrell Allahar, Agriculture Minister Ravi Ratiram, Public Administration Minister Dominic Smith, Tertiary Education Minister Prof Prakash Persad and Civil Aviation and Transport Minister Elias Zakour also did not speak before Swaratsingh stood up. The PNM said in his 16-minute wrap-up, Swaratsingh addressed none of the concerns raised by opposition and independent senators. The PNM said, "Very importantly, in light of the announcement today by the government of Venezuela as to the cancellation of the energy framework agreement between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, the government failed to give any critically needed explanation as to whether the oil and gas investments including the Manatee field to be operated by Shell would be prejudiced." The PNM identified expected revenue shortfall, the non-funding of the ten per cent back pay to public servants promised by the UNC during the general election campaign and overstated borrowing arrangements as other matters which Swaratsingh failed to address. The PNM said, "The government has conducted the budget debate in the Senate in similar manner to the way in which they conducted it in the House of Representatives which demonstrates a seemingly deliberate avoidance of the scrutiny and accountability required in the process of genuine debate." When the House debate ended on October 17, Leader of Government Business Barry Padarath blamed the PNM for that debate collapsing when it did not present any speakers after Claxton Bay MP Hansen Narinesingh finished his contribution At a news conference on October 18, Opposition Chief Whip Marvin Gonzales said the PNM realised the government was attempting to get all 12 PNM MPs to speak to enable Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other senior government minister to speak unchallenged. Gonzales added apart from Education Minister Michael Dowlath and Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo, only government backbenchers spoke in the debate. Persad-Bissessar, Padarath, Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, Defence Minister Wayne Sturge and Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers were among the government MPs who did not contribute to the House's debate. Under the standing orders of the House and Senate, senior government ministers have the right to speak in debates in both Houses of Parliament. This means Persad-Bissessar, Padarath, Moonilal, Alexander, Sturge and Sobers could have spoken in the Senate budget debate if they chose to. Similarly, Jeremie, Ratiram, Smith, Persad and Zakour could have spoken in the House budget debate. Neither of these scenarios happened. In previous budget debates, senior government ministers who are MPs have spoken in Senate budget debates and senior government ministers who are senators have spoken in House budget debates. The Senate sits on October 29 from 10 am to debate motions to confirm the Excise Duty (Tobacco Products) (Amendment) Order, 2025 and the Excise Duty (Alcoholic Beverages) (Amendment) Order, 2025. respectively. Both measures are related to the budget's proposals to increase duties on these products. The House sits on October 31 to extend the state of emergency (SoE) for another three months. The SoE was declared on July 18. On July 28, it was extended for three months. This is allowed under Section 10 (1) of the Constitution, by a simple majority in the House. The UNC has 26 MPs in the House. The PNM has 13 and the Tobago People's Party (TPP) has two. Although there is no coalition between the UNC and TPP, their MPs have voted together on matters before the House. Given the existing numbers in the House, the SoE will be extended unless the government decides not to do so. However the Constitution forbids an SoE from being extended for more than a total of six months in aggregate, by simple majority vote in the House. To extend the SoE beyond six months, a three-fifths majority vote is needed in the House and Senate. This equates to 25 votes and 19 votes respectively. Government already has 26 MPs in the House to comfortably pass this vote. but it falls short of this vote by four in the Senate. This means the remaining four votes in the Senate to extend the SoE beyond six months must come from any of the six opposition senators or the nine independent senators. The post PNM condemns Government shutdown of Senate debate appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.