Speaker sends Govt to Privileges Committee
HISTORIC EVENT IN TRINIDAD
In a history-making decision, House Speaker Barendra Sinanan ruled yesterday that the Government must face the Privileges Committee for its failure to answer over 100 questions on the Parliamentary Order Paper.
At the Parliament sitting, Opposition Chief Whip Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj raised a motion on the Government’s failure to answer these questions as a matter of privilege of the House.
“The Opposition members have been severely prejudiced and adversely affected in their duty to scrutinise the Government and to make the Government account to the House,” Maharaj said.
He said the Government’s action of leaving questions unanswered for inordinate periods of time amounted to an affront to the House.
He noted that the House Standing Orders impose a mandatory duty on the Government to answer the questions which are listed on the order paper, Maharaj said: “The Prime Minister as Head of Government and as Head of Cabinet is responsible to the House for the aforesaid conduct of the Government and its Ministers. My research shows that nowhere in the Commonwealth have a Government conducted itself in such a manner.”
He referred to Standing Order 43 (5) which prohibits members of the House from showing disregard for the ruling of the Speaker or to disregard the authority of the chair. “The aforesaid conduct by the Government amount to a continuing breach of this standing order,” he added.
At the previous Parliament sitting as well as others from the beginning of this year, Maharaj has continuously raised concerns over the deferral of questions, imploring the Speaker to intervene.
Every time the matter was raised, Sinanan pleaded with the Government to answer the questions on a timely basis.
This matter was raised in a Daily Express editorial on Thursday which called on the Government to hold itself accountable and answer questions. Yesterday, in response to Maharaj’s matter, Sinanan ruled that Government should face the fire for possible contempt of the House.
“It is not my task to hold an enquiry into this matter. All I am required to do is consider whether the rather novel submissions of the honourable member for Tabaquite point to a reasonable possibility that contempt has occurred,” he said.
“However, I have carefully considered this matter which has been submitted to me earlier today, against the background of principles relating to contempt. In doing so, I have examined all appropriate authorities, including our own Constitution, and I am of the view that a prima facie case of contempt has been made out,” Sinanan said.
He made it clear that he was not expressing a concluded view on these matters. “That is for your Committee of Privileges to do, after a full consideration and investigation of this issue. In the circumstances, I refer the matter to the Committee of Privileges of this House for investigation and report,” he said.
Sinanan explained in his ruling that parliamentary privilege is a group of rights or rules that are designed to enable the legislature to function properly and the rationale of contempt powers is the acknowledged right of both houses to secure the free working of Parliament as a democratic institution by the exercise of undisputed control over their own internal proceedings.
“This power is a right that Parliaments jealously safeguard. Thus, this House and this House alone possesses the power to declare an act to be contempt of the House. Not even the Speaker can do that,” he said.
Following Sinanan’s ruling, Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner turned and shook Maharaj’s hand as members of the Government sat in silence.
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