David Granger

Debate on a no confidence motion against Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee began in the National Assembly on Wednesday with Leader of the Opposition David Granger saying the country deserved better.

The motion brought by Granger came one week after the killing of three Lindeners by police during a protest against a move to increase electricity rates in the town.

Prior to debate beginning on the motion the government requested that it be done on another date and the matter went to Speaker of the House Raphael Trotman for his ruling which went in favour of the opposition.

“Somebody must take responsibility for those deaths, it was not misadventure; it was not an accident to shoot a young man in his face, to shoot a young man through his heart, to shoot two dozen people, cannot be an accident. Something went badly wrong,” Granger told the House.

He noted that the minister himself had mentioned that there were other methods that could have been employed to disperse the crowd which had occupied a key bridge for the better part of the fateful day.

“The honourable minister has boasted through the pages of the newspapers, and in particular the Guyana Information Agency, that he has general responsibility for issuing general or special directions; what direction then did he issue?

If you have power you must have responsibility; if you have power to issue directions and you fail to do so it is the business of this House … and you must give account. Whether he acts or fails to act he is responsible for the consequences of his conduct or misconduct,” the opposition leader stated.

According to Granger, this is not the time to “blame the corporals and the Commissioners” but rather the time to step forward and accept responsibility. He pointed out that the electricity tariff increase was a sore point for months and the authorities knew a protest was coming but yet failed to prepare appropriately despite equipment being available.

The retired Brigadier added that though the Linden shooting was a single incident it was enough to expose a pattern of maltreatment of certain citizens and mistaken priorities.

“Mr. Speaker, we have no confidence in the ability of the Minister of Home Affairs to protect our citizens and preserve the security of this nation … 20 years in Cabinet is a long time and Mr. Speaker I could understand the tiredness and fatigue.

But the future beckons us, we want a minister who will heal the wounds of Linden, we want a minister who’ll pursue serious reform of the police force and the security sector, we want a professional police force which will protect our women and children, Mr. Speaker, we want the minister to go,” he concluded to table-thumping applause from the opposition members.

The government had noted that it had a right to have all of its MPs or any number of them it thought necessary speak to the motion and fielded eight speakers to the opposition’s two.

Leading off was Attorney General Anil Nandlall who opened by saying that what transpired in Linden was an indisputable tragedy and that it was not his intention to dispute the violations of people’s rights that took place.

According to the AG, he had “a higher calling.”

“If they are truly concerned and not influenced by agendas that are outside of the Linden tragedy then we must no make utterances in this House and outside, adopt postures inside of this House and outside which would tend to prejudge, to preempt and to prejudice that very exercise to which we have all committed ourselves.”

His reference was to President Donald Ramotar’s consent to having a Commission of Inquiry set up to robe the Linden killings.

“We are making for the minister to go and by making such a calling there has to be a conclusion that  he is responsible and I am saying that  is a matter for the Commission,” Nandlall stated.

According to him, if they were to take the approach of condemning whomever they think was responsible whenever death occurs then they would have to abolish the entire legal system. He added that the Assembly would be condemning people without due process.    

Nandlall, who is also the Minister of Legal Affairs, said Rohee was not serving by the confidence of the parliament but by that of the people.

"Only the president can remove him," he said and noted that the opposition leader was the only member of the Assembly who could be removed by a no confidence motion in the House.

Nandlall added that the minister has a “general supervisory control” and could not direct the day to day operations of the force.

The AG said the government remained committed to ensuring those responsible for the killing of the three men are brought to justice and he urged that the House await the outcome of the process.

 “Everything outside of that sir is preemptive and prejudicial and the process of the National Assembly unfortunately is being misused to persecute that cause," Nandlall stated.

The terms of reference for the Commission are to be finalised by August 2 with the body to be set up shortly after.