Rohee's refusal to appear before committee unacceptable - PNCR
Stabroek News
February 15, 2004
The People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) said it does not accept the position of Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation Clement Rohee that he will not appear before the Foreign Relations Committee as long as Jerome Khan sits as a member of that committee.
The statement said the minister refused to make his presentation to the committee because of the PNCR parliamentarian's presence at the meeting of the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly held on Friday January 6.
According to the party, the Sectoral Committees of Parliament are appointed under article 119b of the Constitution and no member of the executive branch of the government can refuse to appear before that committee or seek to determine the composition of that committee.
Rohee, the PNCR stated, might have been offended by comments that Khan made about Rohee's having to travel to Mexico through a "circuitous route" rather than a more direct and economic route through the United States.
The party said: "The minister's actions smack of a deliberate attempt by the PPP/C administration to frustrate the work of constitutionally appointed committees..."