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| Opposition slams Govt bulldozing Bills | |
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By ISAAC NICHOLAS The Opposition has slammed the Government for bulldozing Bills through Parliament without proper debate. Opposition leader Sir Mekere Morauta, his deputy Bart Philemon and other MPs called a media briefing on Friday after Parliament passed the telecommunication amendments and the amendments to the Public Finance (Management) Act. Parliament was then adjourned to May 13, much to the displeasure of Opposition MPs. Sir Mekere said the country is preaching about Government by the people, which was not true. The case now it seems, is government by “certain people”. “This is a very dangerous trend where 19 people in Cabinet are denying 109 MPs to address their views on behalf of the people.” Mr Philemon said the amendments to the Telecommunications Act did not go through the proper screening process including by-passing the inter -parliamentary committee on communications. He said it was entertained in Cabinet and than buldozed through in Parliament without much debate. Mr Philemon was critical of the argument about sovereignty the Government used to pass amendments to the Telecommunications Act. He said communication services were one of the top four sectors that contribute to economic growth. He said the Treasurer, in the 2008 budget, acknowledge that with the introduction of Digicel, the sector grew by 0.7% in just a short time when the country opened up to competition. Komo-Magarima MP Francis Potape said a lot of young leaders, both in government and opposition need to be given the chance to debate on Bills that affect the lives of ordinary people. “The executive arm is having too much control over the legislature. I want the front bench (Prime Minister and ministers) to allow new MPs to express their views.” “I also call on the Government to allow its own backbench to debate on issues instead of bulldozing them through Parliament,” Mr Potape said. |
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