Yesterday, the legal challenge to the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) (amendment) Act was filed in the names of Opposition Parliamentarian, People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)’s Christopher Jones and Norris Witter.
These proceedings challenge the process of the passage and enactment of the Natural Resources Fund Act of 2021; an Act that the PNCR has always argued is unconstitutional.
The proceedings seek the Court’s determination of the constitutionality of the Natural Resource Fund Act in light of the following claims:
a) the failure by the National Assembly and Parliament to consult the stakeholders and citizens in the enactment and passage of the Natural Resource Fund Act;
b) the decision of the Speaker of the National Assembly to permit the Act to proceed in the face of a Petition presented to Parliament seeking time for consultation;
c) the Speaker of the National Assembly allowing the Natural Resource Fund Bill to be passed without calling on any Opposition Member of Parliament to debate the Bill;
d) the Speaker of the National Assembly allowing the Bill to be debated and passed without the Mace in the Assembly and with the use of a mock Mace;
e) the constitutionally enshrined right to political participation which includes the right of citizens and civil society organizations to participate in decision making was contemptuously disregarded by the Government and the Speaker of the National Assembly; and
f) the decision by the Speaker of the National Assembly to allow the continuation of proceedings of Parliament, without a Motion, beyond the hour fixed by the National Assembly.
The passage of the NRF bill last December was made following an in-house fracas that erupted when Opposition parliamentarians began a protest that followed a tug-of-war between parliament staffers and PNCR Member, Annette Ferguson, who sought to cease the mace in a bid to stop proceedings.
The incident has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many Guyanese as the shocking spectacle was broadcasted live from the hallowed walls of the House, amid a cacophony of opposition cries that the bill was a “thieving” one.
The PNCR Leader, Aubrey Norton said that the attempt at disruption was warranted and that the resistance to the bill’s passage was done for the sake of the Guyanese and future generations. After the mace had been removed, the Speaker, Manzoor Nadir presided over the bill’s passage with the use of a “replica” mace.
The initial bill was passed by the PNCR-led Coalition government while it had already fallen to a no-confidence motion.
