McNeill stays far from party-colour furore

TOURISM MINISTER Wykeham McNeill says he will not be distracted by claims made by North West St Elizabeth Member of Parliament (MP) J.C. Hutchinson that political "coloration" had crept into the document bearing his Sectoral Debate presentation.

Hutchinson on Tuesday chided McNeill, who was not in the House at the time, for reportedly blending orange with a design showing black and green.

On Tuesday, pandemonium broke out in Gordon House - the seat of Jamaica's Parliament - after Deputy House Speaker Lloyd B. Smith summoned the House marshal, Kevin Williams, to eject Hutchinson after the MP disobeyed a directive from him.

McNeill, who was asked during yesterday's Jamaica House press briefing to respond to Hutchinson's comments about the colours he used on the cover of his speech, said he was focusing his attention on more serious issues affecting the country.

"Certainly, from my perspective, I want to move ahead and deal with the issues, deal with positives, deal with the things that came out of the presentations (Sectoral Debate) and not get sidetracked by other issues," he said.

"We are living in serious times and we have serious issues to deal with and we need to focus on those things," McNeill stressed, while refusing to be embroiled in a debate on party colours.

During the Gordon House melee on Tuesday, the deputy House speaker erred in instructing the marshal to remove Hutchinson from the Chamber.

This led to an uproar with opposition MPs walking out protesting bitterly that the Standing Orders or the rules of the House were breached.

House Speaker Michael Peart later admitted that his deputy had made a mistake in carrying out his task.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com