Speaker again urges MPs to conduct House matters with decorum, dignity

Oct 28, 2016 News

By Kiana Wilburg
The need for Members of Parliament (MPs) to conduct the business of the House with a sense of decorum and dignity was once again underscored by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Barton Scotland, yesterday.

House Speaker,
Dr. Barton Scotland

The Speaker said that the nation has been observing the activities of the house and has since been disapproving of the conduct of some MPs.
Dr. Scotland told the House that he felt obliged to bring the matter to their attention.
“During the recess, I have been paying close attention to our daily publications, especially the letter columns. In reading the relevant pieces, I have sought to pay more attention to the message rather than the messenger. The messenger, of course, comes from that vast body of persons who are our fellow citizens; our fellow Guyanese on whose behalf we all swore to act in this House for a better Guyana.”
Dr. Scotland reminded that in his announcements in the House on August 17, 2015, he had pointed out to the Members of Parliament that they bear an obligation to conduct the business of the National Assembly, in the sight of our citizens, with stateliness and respectability, with reverence for each other, whether in debates or in other exchanges in the Assembly.
“Since that time honourable members, I must tell you that many of our fellow citizens have been paying attention to all of our activities and as I indicated, some hold themselves in a position to comment on our proceedings. I must tell you that some comments made by our fellow citizens have been disapproving of certain honourable members of this House,” Dr. Scotland asserted.
The House Speaker said that some correspondents felt that the language of interaction used by Members of Parliament is oftentimes spoken in a tone that is lacking in politeness, designed to embarrass, and sometimes filled with acrimony.
“Our citizens are our judges and I invite you work towards a change,” Dr. Scotland emphasised.
The Speaker has quite often found himself appealing to Members of Parliament to engage “in a clean debate.” At times, he was even forced to slam his gavel to call the House to order, given the harsh trading of insults. Often he implored, “Members, I am certain we can use better language, we can do better than that in this Honourable House.”
But it is usually like throwing the proverbial water on duck’s back.
In fact, members during the last budget debates were so caught up in their trading of insults that they often forgot to extend the courtesy of being silent when the Speaker was addressing the House.
Several Parliamentarians throughout the debates expressed that they felt the National Assembly was being transformed into a fish market, given the behaviour of some members.
Speaking to the issue, Prime Minister and Leader of the House, Moses Nagamootoo had said that he believes that members on both sides could have done a better job in showing respect for the Parliament.
“I sincerely believe that we could have conducted ourselves in the House with decorum and respect for each other, in spite of the fact that we have a political divide, and the fact that we belong to two different political blocs. Additionally, there are members of the House who just recently held positions in high offices such as Advisor to the President and ministers,” Nagamootoo expressed.
He added, “But while one might forgive the Opposition backbenchers who are new to certain parliamentary codes of conduct. I cannot say the same for those who know what they are saying and intend to say what they are saying, and the intention is to disrespect, demean and degrade members of the government.”
Nagamootoo believes that because he tabled the No-Confidence motion which ultimately led to the PPP administration being removed from office following the last elections, he and other members have been targets of abusive remarks from those in the Opposition benches.

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