Latest update March 24th, 2025 7:05 AM
Dr. Scotland doesn’t see House Speaker role as enforcer
…says Press has to speak about things that will harm society
Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Barton Scotland
Expressing the view that persons have the innate sense to determine appropriate behaviour, Speaker of the eleventh Parliament, Dr. Barton Scotland, wants the media and the wider community to do more in safeguarding the sanctity of the National Assembly.
Dr. Scotland and his senior Parliamentary staff met with journalists and editors last week to discuss a wider range of issues of mutual interest. When the session was open for questions, the Speaker was asked about matters relating to maintaining decorum in the House.
Based upon the discussion, it appeared that Dr. Barton, a career diplomat, does not see himself as the enforcer as many persons want him to be. At the 71st sitting of the House last month, the Speaker did not intervene when the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) MPs protested with placards, essentially drowning out the address by President David Granger.
The Speaker questioned whether he should have stopped the President, deal with the protest and then re-invite the President to continue his address. He stands by his decision.
The PPP has accused Dr. Scotland of bias in his deliberations and rulings in the House. Most of the accusations stem from the highly charged political climate that the Speaker finds himself in the middle of.
“It’s everybody involved and those of us who see the thing as wrong and remain quiet about it are as guilty as the ones as the ones who are committing the error. Let us face that,” the Speaker stated.
He said rules are made for reasonableness and presumes respect and a certain level of decorum. According to Dr. Scotland, it is not the force of the law alone that prevents persons from breaking the law.
“What are we showing our children? And then we wonder why they are the way they are…Whether we like it or not we are all opinion formers and we are all leaders. Leadership comes at a price,” the Speaker stated.
As Speaker, Dr. Scotland stated that he is guided by the Standing Orders.
“I have some enforcement capacity, but do you run a Parliament on enforcement?” the speaker asked rhetorically.
“You run a country because you have 40 units of soldiers and 10,000 policemen breathing over your neck…or is it there is a presumption in you as a citizen that you too carry a responsibility to make this thing the way it is?”
According to Dr. Scotland, there is something within human beings as citizens that ought to guide and obligate each to act a certain way.
“Whether we like it or not, it’s our Parliament; everybody thinks to pick a side. If my side is doing something wrong either I don’t talk about it or I find a way of explaining it. If your side is doing something wrong, I find a way of knocking it down, saying the worst things about it and even as I am saying that my side is doing the same thing,” the Speaker noted.
Dr. Scotland stated that he looks to the press to report on things that they perceive will harm the society although there are persons who will ‘tell you where you will get off’.
“If you want that Speaker then I am sure there is a speaker like that somewhere in Guyana,” Dr. Scotland stated.
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