By Lynford Simpson, Parliamentary ReporterWITH NEARLY a third of the 60 Members of Parliament (MPs) being first-timers, the majority naturally end up on the back benches of Parliament.
There are two exceptions this time around as Aloun Assamba and Maxine Henry-Wilson were named to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson's 17-member Cabinet following last October's General Election.
The others, on both sides of the House, were left to fill out the back benches.
Dr. Neil McGill, People's National Party (PNP) MP for St. Mary Western said: "I think one of the problems that I face is trying to get what I need to be done for my constituency in the shortest possible time."
Speaking at last week's Editor's Forum at The Gleaner's North Street offices, he added: "...I get the feel, I have no proof to substantiate it yet, but sometimes there might be the old boys club and you know in terms of getting, I am not saying that I have not advocated and got things done, but I get the feel that you need a period of, I don't want to say orientation, but a period of being in the struggle before you can (be recognised)."
Said Dr. McGill: "There are a number of obstacles, one, recognition. We are not as recognised as they (older parliamentarians) are, because there are tiers, levels, and so the Ministers and the Ministers of State and the older parliamentarians, they are there in the forefront."
According to James Robertson, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) MP for St. Thomas Western, you must "pay your dues." Dr. McGill agrees but pointed out that paying one's dues does not necessarily mean you are looked upon less than any other representative.
Each back bencher experiences different problems. For Victor Cummings, PNP MP for
Kingston Central, it is with the agencies of government with which he has to interact to get things done. He said: "The agencies don't pay as much attention to you when you are trying to get things done. You might call, call, but they might decide to return your call or not."
Back benchers also face a problem of respect within their own constituencies because they are not seen to wield the same power as Ministers.
DETERMINED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
But, Dr. Morais Guy, PNP MP for St. Mary Central, is determined to make a difference even if it makes him unpopular among his own constituents.
He said: "At the constituency level, and I think I speak on behalf of all of us here, when you go into the constituency, there is one thing I don't do, 'yow MP' (somebody addressing him), that sort of business. I don't stop, I don't respond because you are not talking to me. They had more respect for me when I was Dr. Guy. Before I was MP I was Dr. Guy, but now you are 'yow, Guy', that sort of business. I don't answer to that because my constituency knows that if you want to address me, you are going to address me properly with the respect. The first thing you start to learn to do is to have respect for yourself."
TAKING IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL
His colleague agrees: "Before I was Dr. McGill, now I am McGill, I don't respond to that because I want to take it to another level because they see politicians as somebody who is not sitting at the same stratum where a doctor would sit or where an editor or a journalist or whomever because of the stigmatisation that takes place as a result of our utterances and the way we behave amongst each other."
For his part, Mr. Cummings feels it is more difficult being a Government back bencher as the task is "far more difficult than the Opposition's new parliamentarians."
PREFERENCE FOR GOV'T BACKBENCH
Even so, there is still a preference for the Government back bench with the clear recognition that it is only with time that new MPs are able to assert themselves.
"I would have preferred to be a Government back bencher instead of an Opposition back bencher," said Dr. Patrick Harris PNP MP for Trelawny North. He said it was not all that difficult getting things done from the back bench.
"I think that if you know where your constituency wants to go beforehand you would be very well armed to decide what is your priority and which buttons you should press and you will find that if you know which buttons you should press, you will press them and you will get the response."
Dr. McGill agrees: "It is not something which is insurmountable, but there is a difficulty, the recognition, paying the dues ... there has to be a period of assertion and if you don't let your voice he heard, you are not a nice guy."
BEING MORE VOCAL
He explained that he was likely to be more vocal at a sitting of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), where he acts as a watchdog over the public purse. "I must scrutinise what is happening to taxpayers' money and I don't care who gets hurt there, that is my responsibility and so I go with that quite vehemently. In the other area (the House of Representatives), there are persons who have responsibilities, we (the back benchers) provide back-up, as a matter of fact, sometimes much of the information you hear put out there comes from us, most of the research comes from the back benchers."
He added that: "We are the engine, we provide the energy, we provide information, we energise the whole thing."
But Mr. Cummings has some difficulty "being back there."
"We do a lot of the research and we pass the information forward (to the Minister with portfolio responsibility) and there are times when you can have a little influence on those up front. If it is something that they are aware that you are knowledgeable of, they might pay a little attention to you but sometimes it's very difficult getting your point across," Mr. Cummings explained.
