PNC/R boycott a rejection of Parliament
- Luncheon
Guyana Chronicle
April 15, 2004
HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, yesterday lamented the continued 'abandonment' of the National Assembly by the main Opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), saying its boycott smacked of its "rejection of the forum of Parliament" and the use of this option as a major component of its political strategy.
Speaking at his post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the President, he pointed out that the current debate on the 2004 national budget, which began on Tuesday, was "lessened by the abandonment of the House by the Opposition PNC/R".
According to Luncheon, the debate remained the main annual opportunity for Cabinet Ministers to report on their stewardship and respond to parliamentary and citizen concerns.
He said, too, that the budget debate, in the context of recent parliamentary reforms, "now shares with the four Parliamentary Sector Committees a legislative facility or authority for monitoring and oversight of the executive."
Luncheon said the other parliamentary opposition parties - ROAR and GAP/WPA - attended the beginning of the debate and they are continuing to do so in keeping with parliamentary procedures, to examine the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditures.
The PNC/R also boycotted the National Assembly on March 29, when Finance Minister Sasenarine Kowlessar presented the $75.6 billion no-tax budget.