Most Opposition members absent from vote on Supplementary Bill
ONLY TWO MEMBERS of the opposi- tion new Democratic Party (NDP) were present when it was time to vote on the Supplementary Estimates that was tabled in the House of Assembly by Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves on Thursday, August, 7, 2025.
That sitting of the House of Assembly went past midnight, and into the early hours of Friday, August 8.
Opposition Leader, Dr Godwin Friday and some other members on the Opposition benches had left sometime during the night, with only Fitzgerald Bramble, MP for East Kingstown, and Terrance Ollivierre, MP for the Southern Grenadines remaining to vote on the motion, and the Supplementary Bill.
On both occasions, Prime Min- ister Dr Ralph Gonsalves asked for a division, so all members had to state ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ individually.
The two opposition members remaining at the time of the vote voted ‘nay’ on each occasion.
All 12 members on the govern- ment side voted in support of the motion and the Bill before the House.
The Bill was passed because of the government’s majority in the House.
Earlier on Thursday, the finance minister tabled the Bill for an Act to sanction payments from the Consolidated Fund totalling $98.6 million.
He explained that this money was “to complete works in some specific areas”.
The ongoing roads programme will receive $28.2 million; $25.6 million is for completion of the modern port at Rose Place, Kingstown; $41.7 million is to continue the post Hurricane Beryl rebuilding of houses; and $3 million is for payment to guest houses for accommodation of persons displaced by Hurricane Beryl on July 1, 2024.
In his contribution to debate on the Bill on Thursday, Opposition Leader Dr Godwin Friday, made it clear that he will not support the Supplementary Estimates.
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