Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, which morning, struck out oral questions, by the Opposition APNU/AFC, in relation to the visit of United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Nadir made the announcement, at the starting of the budget debates. He cited the parliamentary standing orders, which stipulate that such questions must be urgent and important.
“Two days ago, (Amanza) Walton Desir submitted questions without notice, yesterday I ruled and it was re-submitted by [Christopher] Jones, again today…Under Standing Order 18, it requires that questions without notice have urgency and importance. I maintained that the questions submitted do not qualify as urgent,” Nadir said.
Particularly, the questions were centred on the agenda of Pompeo’s visit, whether Venezuela will be a topic for discussion, and what costs will be borne by taxpayers to facilitate the high-level arrangements.
In a statement afterwards, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon claimed that the decision to strike out the questions was unfair.
However, Pompeo has already announced the reason for his visit to Guyana and other countries in the Western Hemisphere.
The US Department of State on Tuesday said Pompeo’s trip will highlight the United States’ commitment to defend democracy, combat COVID-19 while revitalising economies in the pandemic’s wake and strengthen security against regional threats.
