Speaker rejects swine flu debate
What qualifies as a matter of urgent public attention for debate in the House of Representatives?
Certainly, not the Swine Flu alert in the country, as far as Speaker Barendra Sinanan is concerned.
The Speaker at Friday’s sitting of the House – the first since the Swine Flu scare – rejected a motion by Caroni East MP Tim Gopeesingh to have the matter debated as a definite matter of urgent public importance.
Gopeesingh, a gynaecologist and United National Congress/Alliance (UNC/A) MP, used the parliamentary device of raising a motion on the adjournment of the House or, in other words, when the Leader of the House announces the adjournment of the sitting to another date.
Goopesingh, according to the Standing Orders,Section 12 (1), would have to notify the Speaker, in advance and in writing, of his attention to do this.
The Speaker informed him that he could not entertain the motion and advised that it be done under another section of the Standing Orders.
The goodly doctor, in presenting the motion, noted the seriousness of the matter and claimed that the Minister of Health and had not properly explained the matter to the public.
He went on to argue why it was of urgent public importance and any reasonable person, regardless of political persuasion certainly could not disagree with such a motion.
Gopeesingh, a fast bowler for Queen’s Park Cricket Club in his youth, had the look on his face similar to that of a bowler who was, contemptuously, hit for six.
Parliamentary observers may very well ask that if the Swine Flu menace, which has every citizen extremely concerned if not downright terrified, cannot be debated as a matter of urgent public importance in Parliament, well then what really can be debated?
This has long been a problem in Parliament: at countless sittings successive Speakers have rejected similar motions.
This has raised questions of impartiality and while there may, generally, be no evidence of the Speaker being anything but even-handed the Opposition must feel aggrieved by such treatment.
The fact that the Speaker is usually a supporter if not an active member of the ruling party, as Sinanan is, compounds the problem.
Under the Standing Orders a minister or parliamentary secretary cannot bring such a motion to Parliament. If the Speaker approves the motion, debate must start at 6 p.m. and must continue for at least one hour.
Is the Swine Flu pandemic a matter of urgent public importance?
Comments
One Response to “Speaker rejects swine flu debate”
Just another example of the phenomenal levels of incompetence and downright stupidity of our government. The Attorney General’s recent quote comes to mind, whether or not her explanation was accurate — there really aren’t any “honest and capable” persons in public office.