Khadija: Gov’t trying to get Parliament to do its work

This is according to leader of government business Franklin Khan who moved the motion at yesterday’s sitting of the Senate.

The Welch report, along with “the long awaited” gas master plan which he will table in the Parliament today, Khan said, was Government’s commitment to transparency under Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

“There has always been a clamour in this Parliament to be more involved in policy formulation and policy evaluation.

This is your opportunity today. Grasp it with both hands,” he said.

The JSC is meant to consider the first and second reports of the committee which was established to review the levels of health care delivery by regional health authorities and to rationalise the system of public sector doctors in private practice.

The committee led by Dr Winston Welch was established in November 2015. It was commissioned by Rowley.

Other members of the committee were Dr Wayne Frederick, Professor Karl Theodore, Charles de Gannes, Dr Adesh Sirjusingh, Valerie Alleyne-Rawlins and Dr Albert Persaud.

The JSC will be mandated, Khan said, to review and analyse the reports, consider the findings and recommendations, and report its observations and recommendations by June 30.

Opening the debate on the motion for the opposition, senator Khadija Ameen said the motion was “an attempt to get the Parliament to do Cabinet’s work.” Government was challenged, she said, particularly when it comes to policies and the ordinary citizen who believes that the Parliament and Government was one will be misled. The PNM which was elected to run the country, she said, are the ones to design policies and not the Parliament.

The PNM political leader, she said, would have chosen members to form his Cabinet and they are responsible for making plans and deciding on policies.