No Independent co-ordinator in Senate

The Independent bench sat yesterday in the Senate with no co-ordinator to replace former senator Dhanayshar Mahabir, whose spot has not yet been filled.

So said Independent Senator Melissa Ramkissoon.

The nine-member bench was reduced to eight.

On the government bench, attorney Garvin Simonette was sworn in as a permanent senator, having had several stints as an acting senator over the past few months. Otherwise the Government bench was supplied yesterday with two acting senators, IT engineer Ndale Young (a candidate on the Red and Rowley slate in Sunday’s PNM internal elections) and attorney Augustus Thomas (a former PNM candidate for Moruga/Tableland in the 2010 general election) .

Young paid tribute to Mahabir as one whose contributions were always refreshing, such as those on controversial issues such as marijuana. He said Mahabir wwould throw a proverbial curveball or a googly during Senate debates.

Yesterday's formal re-opening of Parliament, the first sitting of the fourth session of the eleventh Parliament, saw the Senate meet in the intimacy of the ANR Robinson Room, chaired by Senate vice-president Nigel De Freitas. While the Senate met, the House of Representatives sat simultaneously.