Letter of the Day | Speaker of House should act with diligence and objectivity
Published:Friday | November 17, 2023 | 12:07 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
Newly appointed Speaker of the House Juliet Holiness has the right, latitude and the power to decide when reports should be tabled. She should align her judgement and decisions on lingering and increasingly controversial issues with historical precedence, common sense and best practices. To do otherwise will place her leadership, judgement, credibility, and the party of which she is a member on a less than firm footing.
The People’s National Party’s arguments, as have been expressed in Parliament by Opposition Leader Mark Golding and Shadow Spokesperson on Finance Julian Robinson on the issue of when reports should be tabled in Parliament, are solid, hard to counter (with a straight face), and legally, democratically and ethically robust.
The Speaker of the House must at all times, when making critical decisions, weigh the pros and cons of one decision over the other(s). Last, in executing his/her duties, the Speaker of the House will do himself/herself a great disservice when consensus-building becomes eroded by one or more decisions, and their actions during and outside of parliamentary sittings.
PATRICK GALLIMORE