4th session of Parliament to prorogue after today

Certain undebated bills on the respective agendas of the Senate and House of Representatives are expected to be carried over into the fifth and final session of the 12th Parliament which will be launched Friday.

This was confirmed yesterday by officials of both Houses.

The current fourth session of the 12th Parliament is expected to be prorogued at midnight tomorrow (Tuesday) after both Houses resume business today following their recent annual recess.

The Senate sits at 10 am, while the House of Representatives meets at 1.30 pm.

In the Senate, 33 reports and papers will be laid.

These will include the Special Report of the Auditor General of the Republic on the Public Accounts of T&T for the financial year ending September 30, 2023. It is a supplementary report to the Auditor General’s first report on the 2023 accounts.

It resulted from the clash between Auditor General (AG) Jaiwantie Ramdass and officials from the Finance Ministry over $2.6 billion in revenue for 2023 which was understated in the AG’s first report on T&T’s 2023 accounts. The $2.6 billion was discovered in February by ministry officials due to issues with the Central Bank’s new electronic cheque-clearing system. However, the discovery arose after the January 31 deadline for submission of 2023 information to the auditor general. After an initial refusal, the Auditor General accepted it but the $2.6 billion wasn’t stated in her report on T&T’s 2023 accounts which was sent to Parliament in May. The Government refused to present the report and changed the law to extend the time for the submission of information to the Auditor General and submission of her report.

Also being laid in the Senate is the First Annual Report of the Office of Procurement Regulation for the period April 26, 2023, to April 25, 2024, when the procurement regime started.

The Senate also continues debate on the controversial bill to fuse the Solicitor General’s and other Legal Affairs divisions in the Attorney General’s Ministry.

No other bill will be debated by the Senate today. Certain other bills listed on the Senate’s agenda are expected to be carried into the fifth session of Parliament.

In the House of Representatives, 68 reports and papers will be laid by various ministers. These also include the Auditor General’s Special Report and Procurement Regulator’s report.

A bill listed on the House of Representatives agenda, which is designed to meet Global Forum obligations concerning transparency, is expected to be debated today. If not it will be carried over the fifth session. It’s titled An Act to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act, the Anti-Terrorism Act, the National Insurance Act, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago Act, the Income Tax Act, the Corporation Tax Act, the Petroleum Taxes Act, the Registration of Business Names Act, the Companies Act, the Tax Information Agreements (United States of America) Act, the Non-Profit Organisation Act, the Tax Information Exchange Agreements Act, the Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters Act, the Miscellaneous Provisions (Trustees, Exchequer and Audit, the Minister of Finance (Incorporation) Act, Income Tax, Companies, Partnerships, Securities, Tax Information Exchange Agreements, the Non-Profit Organisations and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters) Act and the Miscellaneous Provisions (Registrar General, Companies, Registration of Business Names and Non-Profit Organisations) Act, 2024.

Other bills which will be dealt with later in the fifth session are a Campaign Finance Reform bill, the conclusion of Committee stage scrutiny of the two Tobago Autonomy bills, and the Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC’s) report on proposed boundary changes. An updated Salaries Review Commission (SRC) report also expected, will take into consideration the judiciary and other aspects.

Officials said Friday’s launch of the fifth and final term of the 12th Parliament is unlikely to be a ceremonial opening.

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