Bill.Williams noted that the Leader of APNU

micevan1l6

Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams of the political coalition, A Partnership for National Unity has expressed that his party is willing to relinquish the provisions they had requested in the Local Government Bill which President Donald Ramotar had refused to assent to and had sent back to the Parliament on the basis of unconstitutionality.Basil WilliamsThe Attorney at Law informed however, that APNU has been unable to make this position pellucid as the Bill has not been brought to the National Assembly.The Member of Parliament made this disclosure during a press briefing held on Thursday last at its head office on Hadfield Street.The Shadow Minister reminded that the President had assented to three of the four Local Government Bills. Those assented to are the Fiscal Transfers Bill 2012, Municipal and District Councils (Amendment) Bill and the Local Government Commission Bill. The Bill not assented to, was the Local Government (Amendment) Bill.Williams noted that the Leader of APNU, Brigadier (rtd.) David Granger had written to President Donald Ramotar stating that their support from certain Bills will be withheld if he (President Ramotar) does not assent to certain Bills and operationalise the ones that were assented to.He added, “We also said that the constitution says that if you don’t assent to a Bill you must give reasons. So what has happened to those Bills that he has non-assented to and sent back? They were not brought back to the Parliament. It was supposed to be so according to the procedures and we would make an assessment of what he has said.”“We (APNU) believe that he (the President) does not have the power to decide what’s constitutional and what’s not but that aside, it has to be sent back to us.”The lawyer noted that the provision requested by the joint Opposition to the Amendment Bill was one which stated that a Minister could not have the power to take over a local democratic organ and that such power should be vested in the Local Government Commission.The APNU Member said that the coalition has no problem in relinquishing the provisions they had asked for but added, “how can we let them know our position if they don’t bring it back to the assembly?”“We had three provisions but we won’t break a lance over those provisions. We could eliminate those provisions. We are saying that the Minister should have no power to take over no local democratic organ power and it should be in the Commission but equally the Commission doesn’t need that power, so the three provisions the Government spoke to we don’t have a problem with relinquishing it.”