Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has formally submitted the names of three individuals to sit on the Local Government Commission.
The nominees put forward by Norton are Mr Sherwin C. Benjamin, Ms Joan Ann Ramscindo, and Ms Nicole Trotman. However, Norton has been asked to provide additional information including the curriculum vitae of these individuals before the appointments can be finalised.
The issue came up during the consideration of the 2025 budget estimates for the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development on Tuesday. Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Ganesh Mahipaul raised a question to Minister Sonia Parag, asking, “When will the Local Government Commission be sworn in?”
In her response, Minister Parag stated that the process had already been initiated, and a letter had been sent to the Leader of the Opposition. However, she claimed there had been no response from Norton to date.
This prompted MP Mahipaul to assert that the Opposition Leader had, in fact, responded, presenting two pieces of correspondence to substantiate his position during Wednesday’s sitting of the Committee of Supply.
Government Chief Whip Gail Teixeira weighed in, claiming that the Leader of the Opposition had not responded to her.
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, who attended the session virtually, explained that Norton has history of bypassing her Ministry, which is responsible for handling correspondence on constitutional appointments.
Teixeira noted that this issue had once again surfaced, as Norton did not respond to her communications, instead directly reaching out to the President or using an intermediary.
“Mr. Norton has a habit of not recognising me as the person who writes to him on behalf of the President. So, any correspondence sent to him on constitutional appointments, he will respond directly to the President and/or through an emissary,” Teixeira said.
As a result, Teixeira admitted that she was unaware of the Opposition’s nominees until Monday. Upon learning of them, she instructed one of the Presidential Secretaries to request the resumes of the nominees from the Leader of the Opposition.
Teixeira went on to explain that had she anticipated the question being asked of Minister Parag, she would have informed her in advance to avoid the confusion in the House.
“I would like to ask the Honourable Member that, as I am asked by the President to write to the Leader of the Opposition, that he also provides me with his responses or correspondence, instead of always disregarding my correspondence and treating me as if I am too much beneath him for him to respond,” Teixeira said.
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