Leave of absence was granted to Sen. the Hon. Hassel Bacchus and Sen. Anil Roberts, who are ill and to Sen. David Nakhid and Sen. Evans Welch, who are out of the country, from today’s Sitting of the Senate. Mr. Ndale Young, Mr. Sean Sobers, Ms. Marsha Walker and Dr. Margaret Burgess were appointed temporary Senators in their place.

The Senate paid tribute to former Senator Alwin Chow, who passed away on December 9, 2021 and to former Senator Basharat Ali, who passed away on December 24, 2021. A minute of silence was observed.

Temporary Senators Young, Sobers, Walker and Burgess took the oath of allegiance.

Fifteen (15) papers were laid. See Order Paper for details.

Two urgent questions were posed and answered.

Eight questions qualified for oral answer. Question #53 was deferred for two weeks. Seven questions were answered.

Two bills were introduced in the name of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts.

The Attorney General moved the second reading of The Sexual Offences (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill, 2021. Twelve Senators contributed to the debate before the wind up by the Attorney General. The bill was referred to a Special Select Committee for consideration and report to the Senate by February 1, 2022.

Sen. Wade Mark raised a matter on the adjournment regarding the need for the Government to provide reasons for the proposed recall by the Licensing Division of 700,000 drivers permits. The Minister of Works and Transport, Sen. the Hon. Rohan Sinanan, responded.
Sen. Mark raised a second matter regarding the restructuring of WASA and the implications of this on WASA’s workforce. The Leader of Government Business, Sen. the Hon. Clarence Rambharat, responded.

The Sitting concluded at 6:56 p.m.