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Region’s Speakers concerned about gap between legislature and public
The bastion of democracy in any country lies in the legislature, in the parliament…but Parliament is not a tea party, it is an arena for battles, it is a clash of ideas; because every party is seeking the upper hand. Those were the facts presented by Speaker of the Trinidadian National Assembly, Wade Mark, yesterday, as he shed light on the importance of the Parliament and parliamentary issues.
Mark was company to Barbados House Speaker Michael Carrington and Guyana’s Speaker Raphael Trotman as the three hosted a press conference to make known the success of the 16th Biennial Regional Conference of Presiding Officers and Clerks of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
From right: Guyana’s Speaker Raphael Trotman (centre) is flanked by his counterparts, Trinidadian Wade Mark (left) and Barbadian Michael Carrington
The Conference was held in Guyana from October 28 – 30 under the theme: “The role of Parliaments as they meet the challenges of evolving democracies.”
Based on the account given by all three representatives, this year’s conference focused extensively on bridging the seemingly widening gap between the Parliament and the public it is intended to serve.
The Conference concluded with the passage of three resolutions; the first being to see the establishment of an Executive Steering Committee to coordinate activities among conferences – the next of which will be held in 2015 in Bermuda.
The second is to see the establishment of a Regional Youth Parliament; Parliamentary outreach programmes aimed at youth education being established in each branch and the establishment of a Regional Parliamentary Week at the national level within all member branches “at the earliest opportunity.”
The third and final resolution passed was one that called for countries to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons Living with Disabilities to assist, and for Speakers themselves to make the Parliament friendly to persons with disabilities.
All resolutions passed have direct and indirect links to the concern of bringing the Parliament closer to the public.
Barbadian Speaker Carrington remarked that there is seemingly some sort of “antagonism” between the public and the Parliament. This, he explained, is not unique to one or two jurisdictions in the Region.
Carrington said that it must be realized that politicians are products of the society in which they live.
He admitted, however, that there is blame to taken on both sides. Carrington said that there are some politicians “who behave as if from the time they have won the seat, they are empowered with omniscience. He added, “Some of us become arrogant… and there are some who leave a lot to be desired”.
“On the other hand, there are some politicians who recognize that look… I have a role to play in directing the country”
According to the Caribbean politician, “there are members of the public who think that each and every politician is criminal and there is nothing good that can come out of a politician’s mouth”.
Furthermore, he said, numerous members of the public are not willing to offer themselves for office “but they expect to be able to run the country through a talk show…So there is blame on both sides, but we need to try on our side to bridge the gap.”
He said that stronger leaders will make a better parliament and a better parliament will result in a country being enriched with democracy.
The Speakers made it clear that this year’s conference was definitely not a talk shop and pledged continuity of their work.
They also pledged commitment to put all the resolutions into focus as there shall be a report in Bermuda on the progress made in the decisions outlined
All three Speakers expressed that they have no fear in making promises to push the agenda to make sure that it is not just another forum for consultation.
They remarked that the Conference was a very productive one and extended special thanks to the Parliament and Government of Guyana in this regard.It was noted that the involvement of President Donald Ramotar and Opposition Leader David Granger stood out and was well appreciated.
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