POLITICAL STORM

Tensions flared in Parliament on Tuesday after Speaker of the House Juliet Holness muted the microphone of Opposition Leader Mark Golding during a heated exchange over questions posed to a government minister. The incident led to a dramatic walkout by the parliamentary Opposition.

Golding had attempted to challenge the Speaker’s ruling that disallowed opposition members of parliament (MPs) from questioning Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda, following his statement about approaching Tropical Storm Melissa. Holness claimed that the questions did not align with the Standing Orders, prompting her to block them – a move Golding fiercely objected to.

At a press conference held after the walkout, Golding said his mic was cut off while he raised a procedural submission regarding Holness’ handling of the session. He labelled her actions as “improper, irregular, unparliamentary, and thwarting the democracy of the country”.

FLOODING IN CORPORATE AREA

Golding said yesterday that there were already reports of flooding in the Corporate Area, noting that motorists and pedestrians were being severely inconvenienced.

He raised concern that pertinent questions about resources that should be provided to mitigate against the effects of the pending disaster were disallowed by the Speaker.

Samuda had earlier warned that meteorological models indicated heavy rainfall and flash flooding over the weekend. This prompted MPs like Christopher Brown (St Mary South East) to ask about disaster preparedness in their constituencies. Brown attempted to raise concerns about contractors reportedly refusing to do critical work due to outstanding payments but was muted mid-question by the Speaker.

Holness insisted that all questions must directly relate to the minister’s statement.

Minister without Portfolio Robert Morgan backed her, raising a point of order and calling Brown’s line of questioning “dangerous”. Leader of Government Business Floyd Green also argued that the questions were not directed to the appropriate minister.

Brown, speaking later, said several land slippages in his constituency remained unaddressed despite reports to the authorities. He claimed that he was simply seeking clarity on whether unpaid contractors could hamper emergency preparations.

“And that’s simply what I wanted to find out,” he said.

Westmoreland Central MP Dwayne Vaz also tried to ask if funds would be allocated to MPs for disaster readiness, but his question was similarly ruled inadmissible.

Golding’s microphone was then cut as he rose to protest the Speaker’s rulings. Off-mic, he could be heard questioning whether he had been muted.

This was the apparent proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back that saw Golding putting his documents together and walking out of the chambers followed by members on his side.

“This is unacceptable to us, and we had to absent ourselves from the rest of the proceedings,” he said.

Golding added that going forward, the Opposition would have to adopt different approaches to respond to the Speaker’s actions as they were elected to represent and defend the interest of the people.

He warned that the Speaker’s actions could be interpreted as silencing the Opposition and hindering its constitutional role of holding the Government accountable.

“This is a thwarting of democracy. It makes a mockery of the Parliament, and it’s an abuse of the powers of the Speaker, and we want Jamaica to be aware of the threat to our democracy that is posed when the Parliament’s rules are interpreted and applied in a way that prevents the Opposition from being effective,” he said.

Opposition whip Natalie Garvey was equally incensed.

“We are disgusted at what the Speaker has done. When she turned off the mic of the leader of the Opposition, we were absolutely insulted, and there is no way any democracy can flourish under these circumstances, and we stand by him and stand as an Opposition ready to serve the people who sent us here.”

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com