PNC/R leader, Mr. Desmond Hoyte headed the walkout by his party members when Finance Minister, Mr. Saisnarine Kowlessar stood up to present his $68.9 billion budget - the largest ever in Guyana's history. They were joined by representative of the Guyana Action Party-Working People's Alliance (GAP-WPA), Ms. Shirley Melville.

The representative of the other parliamentary party, Mr. Ravi Dev of the ROAR Guyana Movement was not at yesterday's sitting of the National Assembly.

Chairman of the PNC/R, Mr. Robert Corbin told reporters after the walkout that the PNC/R parliamentary group withdrew from further participation in the business of yesterday's sitting to register its total disgust "at the failure of the PPP/Civic Government to honour its responsibility for good governance, their refusal to implement agreed constitutional changes, their refusal to implement many decisions made during the process of dialogue and the clear intention of the Government to subvert the functioning of the Parliament in accordance with the Guyana Constitution."

But Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Reepu Daman Persaud called the walkout a "cheap shot" and something that was "uncalled for".

"I thought the walkout was uncalled for and it's a cheap shot (since) the place to raise all issues is the Parliament and this budget presents an ideal opportunity for us to talk and to discuss," he told reporters after the budget presentation.

Corbin argued that the PNC/R has remained fully committed to the principles of good governance and it is striving to ensure transparency, equity, fairness, probity, and all those internationally accepted norms which define good governance.

He said too that the implementation of the constitutional amendment for the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission must not be deferred any longer, and must be supported by the long awaited and urgent reform of the underlying public procurement systems, procedures and mechanisms.

"Incompetence, ignorance and the all-pervasive runaway corruption alone cannot explain the apparent contemptuous manner with which the PPP/C regime has treated with the rule of law and national institutions such as the National Assembly," Corbin asserted.

"This is amply illustrated by the high-handed and cavalier manner in which the National Assembly has been summoned for this presentation and debate of the 2002 National Budget," he charged.

He said too in a five-page prepared statement which he read to some reporters outside the Assembly while Minister Kowlessar was presenting his budget inside, that there can be no further compromise for the appointment of the long overdue Ethnic Relations Commission and the seven new Standing Committees of the National Assembly.

On the basis of all that I've outlined above, there can be no business as usual, in so far as the (PNC/R) is concerned and a walkout today is indicative of a beginning of the action which we intend to take," he declared.

Asked whether the PNC/R will be returning to the National Assembly for the budget debate, Corbin said: "We will take this as the days go by...it is possible that the Government may wake up to their senses and tomorrow we'll see the implementation of all the changes; if that is so then the PNC would have to review its position but unless we see some indication that there is change the PNC will have to review its position on a daily basis."

`PAUSE' IN DIALOGUE
Asked about the continuation of the dialogue process with President Bharrat Jagdeo, Mr. Hoyte said there should be "a pause in the dialogue" until all the matters that Corbin had highlighted have been implemented.

He said he had written a letter to President Jagdeo on Thursday, which the President received yesterday, in which he (Hoyte) pointed out all the matters Corbin referred to.

Hoyte said he indicated to the President that his party's Central Executive Committee has taken a decision that there should be a pause in the dialogue until all of the aggrieved matters have been implemented.

"I proposed such a pause...so to answer your question, the dialogue will not proceed unless we see some evidence of willingness to implement the decisions already taken or mandated by the Parliament," he said.

A source said President Jagdeo, in a letter to Hoyte, expressed surprise at the "pause" decision given the progress on several issues which are part of the dialogue process.

The source the President's surprise came within the context of the understanding reached at the February 18-19 last dialogue sessions and in his letter to Hoyte reportedly pointed to the understanding they had reached on several issues, including:
** the Border National Security Committee;
** National Policy on Distribution of Land and House Lots;
** Depressed Communities Committee;
** Report of the Committee on Radio Monopoly and Non-partisan Boards;
** Parliamentary Management Committee and Sectoral Committees.

The source that on the last point, Mr. Jagdeo reminded Hoyte that he had raised the matter at their last dialogue session and asked that they deal with it then, but that he (Hoyte) suggested that it be dealt with at their next meeting.

Persaud said those in the Government benches would welcome those in the Opposition benches back to the National Assembly for an objective and constructive budget debate.

CLAIM DISMISSED
He also dismissed the PNC/R's claim that they walked out because of the failure to reach agreement on the constitution of the parliamentary committees, including the ethnic relations committee

"We are as anxious, or even more anxious, to have all the committees set up (and) we have negotiated with good faith and we have compromised...," Persaud responded.

"We said that we should chair the committee, we moved to rotational chairmanship...the Opposition does not want any ministers to sit on the committee (although) the Constitution doesn't inhibit ministers sitting on these committees," he noted.

"If that was the intention of the Constitutional Reform Commission they would have drafted the amendment to achieve what was intended," he said.

"The doors are open for negotiations; there might be other options (and) we have to talk and we are willing to talk and we want to bring the committees into constitution as quickly as possible," Persaud said.

"We have agreed that ministers will not chair (these committees), we have gone that far; back benchers will chair and we will rotate the chairmanship...we've gone that far, but I think the doors are still open. I think we can still talk, we ought to talk and we must talk with a view to reconciling and resolving this matter."

Melville claimed that "the time has come for the public to become aware about what is going on and of not having true democracy in Parliament."

"Everyone on the Opposition benches are being used as rubber stamps to validate issues to be passed by the Government of the day; we need to grow up, we need to have the public interest at heart and we need to have a commitment to the people of Guyana and we cannot come here and sit and be rubber stamps," she declared.

Responding, Persaud told the Chronicle, "I don't want to say anything negative about her but I think she should stay in the Parliament and learn and she will understand what is a Parliament." (MARK RAMOTAR)