…calls for replacement MP to be identified
Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland, on Thursday officially declared a seat vacant in the benches of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), subsequent to the resignation of Member of Parliament, Charles Ramson Jr.According to Dr Scotland, with Ramson’s resignation, a seat in the opposition benches has now to be filled by a person whose name is to be extracted from the list that Ramson represented.
The young attorney tendered his resignation on September 30 last, and at the time had signalled his intention to pursue a Masters in Oil and Gas at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.
In his letter to the National Assembly, Ramson Jr had explained that his course of action was so that he could pursue a Masters in Oil and Gas Enterprise Management given that Guyana was moving in the direction of becoming an oil and gas-producing nation.
Ramson Jr is the second member of the Opposition to resign since being sworn in as a Member of the 11th Parliament following the May 2015 General and Regional Elections, where the PPP/C suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of the coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).
Dr Clive Jagan had earlier this year tendered his resignation due to illness.
Dr Scotland in announcing Ramson Jr’s vacant seat in the House, called on the representative of the list of Candidates for the PPP/C, to extract from the list the name of the person to become its newest Member of Parliament.
Guyana Times has been told that the party is still to make a decision on who will be replacing Ramson Jr.
Ramson Jr in his resignation had said: “It is absolutely critical for our national development that we have Guyanese who are technically trained in the oil and gas sector. This is particularly important for us as a nation in this preparatory phase as we frame the relevant policy, law and vision if we are to avoid the often cited ‘resource curs’ commonly associated with oil and gas producing nations”.
Ramson was recently awarded a full scholarship from Chevening, a prestigious scholarship competitively awarded on a global scale funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
He had also expressed disappointment over two pertinent issues which prevailed during his time in Parliament, namely: the lack of youth representation at the parliamentary and cabinet levels, and the fact there needs to be a stronger commitment for national unity.
It is expected that the PPP/C will be looking to have a new Member of Parliament sworn in ahead of the presentation of the 2017 Budget which is slated for December.
