Dr Arvin Boolell held a press briefing on Tuesday, alongside several opposition MPs including Paul Bérenger. He announced that the Opposition Whip Patrick Assirvaden and Government Chief Whip Kavi Doolub have met and reached an agreement concerning the debates on Budget. In total, there will be 43 hours of debates, that is, 26.2 hours for Government side and 16.2 hours for the Opposition.
In general, each member of the opposition will have 39 minutes for his or her speech. However, it should be noted that for the Leader of the Opposition, but also and especially for the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, there is no allotted time.
“I hope that the Speaker and the Leader of the House will respect this agreement,” Arvin Boolell said.
Paul Bérenger, for his part, welcomed Arvin Boolell’s return to the post of Leader of the Opposition. “It will be a team effort,” he said. He stressed that it is unprecedented that the budget would be presented with five opposition MPs suspended from Parliament. “It is unique in the world,” he added.
