The House of Representatives will meet tomorrow – its first meeting since the tumultuous days of May when the Universal motion was introduced, postponed and then pulled – amidst mass protest. Tomorrow’s meeting promises to be far less contentious but one item caught our eye. It’s called the Electricity Amendment Bill of 2007 and its explanation appears innocuous enough: it will, “allow the Minister to make by-laws with respect to the provision of electricity and to provide for the publication of final decisions relating to tariffs, charges and fees.”
Like we said, it seems simple enough, but a lot of those responsibilities sound just like those of the PUC. And critics say, that with this bill, Utilities Minister Ralph Fonseca is arrogating unto his office a key part of the regulatory power of the PUC, thus undermining the much vaunted independence and autonomy that the commission is supposed to represent. To know what is the Bill’s true purpose, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow when the Bill, we are told, will be rushed through all three readings.
The Petroleum Revenue Management Fund Bill is also scheduled to be tabled tomorrow and that will require an amendment to the constitution, meaning a three – quarters majority in the House which would require opposition support, which we are told it might not get.
And also on the table for tomorrow’s meeting, the Prime Minister will present an amendment to the Social Security Act reflecting the recommendations of the Senate Select Committee on Social Security. In July of 2006, when the Senate report was presented, the amendment bill was promised within 90 days – tomorrow will make it 424 days since the senate report was tabled.
