Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Speaker finds his voice, sends memo to MPs listing expressions unfit for Parliament
Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir.
Kaieteur News – Following reports of vulgar heckling in the National Assembly and newspapers’ letter pages filled with condemnation of the behaviour of Parliamentarians, Kaieteur News observed a significant uptick in reprimands by Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir, during the budget debates last week.
One instance of this was during the budget presentation of the Opposition Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson, on Friday evening. Ferguson attributed a statement to Minister of Housing and Water, Colin Croal, who almost immediately rose up and demanded that her claim be rescinded as he did not say it. While handling this matter, the Speaker quelled the noise, saying “Honourable Members, I am speaking, and I see the Honourable Member, Vinceroy Jordan, is shouting at the presenter. That is total disrespect!”
On the same day, a memorandum was circulated to MPs and other persons in the dome of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, which outlined a series of unparliamentary expressions which should not be used. Words such as “monkeys,” “senile,” “idiot,” “jackass,” “stool-pigeons” and “swine” were included in the list.
It stated “If the Speaker is of the opinion that words used in a debate are defamatory or indecent or unparliamentary or undignified, he may, in his discretion, order that such words be expunged from the proceedings of the House. When a member, on being asked to withdraw objectionable remarks held to be not relevant to the debate, refuses to do so, the Chair may order expunction thereof.”
Kaieteur News had reported on Tuesday that the last Monday’s opening of the budget debates were vulgar and distasteful, with one MP even waving a vibrator, a sexy toy, in the House. Others made sexist and homophobic remarks. On the following day, the Speaker had cautioned the media against reporting on heckling, opining that they opened themselves to being sued.
On Thursday, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, reprimanded MPs for their poor conduct.
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