‘Bad day for democracy’

Sandwiched between Gordon House and the old Headquarters House in Kingston, Opposition Leader Mark Golding yesterday took the balance of his contribution to the Budget Debate to the streets after his presentation was halted in Parliament by an unprecedented, dramatic Government walkout led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

From 1872 to 1960, Headquarters House was the seat of Jamaica’s legislature. It is now a heritage site and houses the office of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust.

The Government legislators stormed out of Parliament after Golding raised concern about Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural Juliet Holness presiding as Speaker while being the spouse of the head of Government.

The Gleaner understands that this is the first time in independent Jamaica that a Budget Debate presentation was cut short as a result of a walkout by the governing party, leaving the Parliament without a quorum.

“When the former Speaker was forced to resign as a result of an Integrity Commission investigation, the move to replace her with the wife of the prime minister, so that the head of Parliament is now the spouse of the head of Government, does not sit well with the tradition that the Speaker must act independently of the Government of the day,” Golding declared while in Gordon House.

‘LOW AND DESPERATE’ COMMENTS

At this point, Holness was heard in sotto voce remarks declaring Golding’s comments “low and desperate”. He then gathered his documents and walked out of Gordon House while the Opposition leader was still making his presentation.

Mrs Holness was nominated unanimously by members of the Government side to assume the Speaker’s chair. Phillip Paulwell, in his capacity as leader of Opposition business, seconded her nomination to the post.

When asked about the mixed signals being sent by the Opposition, Paulwell told ‘Beyond the Headlines’ host Dionne Jackson Miller yesterday that his acquiescence was in keeping with parliamentary tradition.

“It is a formality that we have come to know as a custom,” he said.

Deputy House Speaker Heroy Clarke, who was in the chair when the walkout occurred, read Standing Orders 7, arguing that the business of the day could not continue without a quorum.

His decision came after controversial Government lawmaker Everald Warmington pointed out that there were fewer than 16 members in the Chamber and, as such, the sitting should be adjourned owing to the lack of a quorum.

SPEAKER’S MISTAKE

However, Paulwell told The Gleaner last night that the acting Speaker erred in invoking Standing Orders 7 as he should not have recognised Warmington who was not following the rules of Parliament as he was speaking from a seat that was not his own.

“Mr Warmington did raise the point on the floor, but he was not doing it from his proper seat. A member must speak from his proper seat and, without asking for permission, he had no authority to speak and the Speaker ought not to have given in to that point,” he said.

Paulwell argued that the sitting should have continued because the Speaker on his own cannot invoke Standing Order 7 without a member bringing it to his attention.

Standing Order 7 (2) states that “If at any time during a sitting of the House objection is validly taken by any member that there is not a quorum present the person presiding shall direct members to be summoned, and if at the end of five minutes a quorum is not present, he shall adjourn the House without question put”.

Paulwell said he would be writing to Speaker Holness to complain about Clarke’s action, which was not in keeping with the House rules.

At the same time, Acting Leader of Government Business Olivia Grange, in a statement last night, said Golding’s questioning of “the legitimate election of the Speaker that was undertaken by the entire House – not by some members”, had brought the House into disrepute.

Senate President Tom Tavares-Finson, in his own statement, said Golding sank below the line marking the minimum standard of ethics, respect, decency, and honour, “demonstrating he will say and do anything to distract the public from the true issue at hand, which is to articulate a clear vision supported by a definite plan for the betterment of the Jamaican people”.

The Gleaner understands the Government is considering a referral of Golding’s comments to the Ethics Committee for review and possible action.

Golding, speaking with The Gleaner as he descended the stairs of Gordon House yesterday, following the abrupt adjournment of the sitting, said the concerns raised about the Speaker being the spouse of the prime minister were a “legitimate concern”, noting that he wasn’t the only one who felt uncomfortable about the arrangement.

“Indeed many of our international partners have raised that concern with me because there is a tradition that the Speaker is to be independent of the Government of the day and when the head of Government and the Speaker are spouses it makes it very difficult to maintain that kind of independence,” he said.

“I don’t see why they had to walk out and effectively muzzle my Budget presentation as leader of the Opposition. I am very disgusted by what they have done and it’s a bad precedent they have set for Jamaica and it’s a bad day for our democracy,” he told The Gleaner.

Anthony Hylton, attorney-at-law and Opposition member of parliament for St Andrew Western, signalled that he was alarmed that the Government had effectively sabotaged the Opposition because its leader said something to which they disagreed.

“If the Opposition said something now, with the constitutional arrangement the way it is where they have the overwhelming majority and Parliament is over, it is a constitutional crisis,” he contended.

Describing the Budget Debate as a sacrosanct exercise, Hylton questioned how the Budget will be passed without the Opposition making its contribution.

“This is an abuse of the Government’s majority.”

The Government has 49 members in the House while the Opposition has 14 lawmakers.

The Gleaner sought comment from at least three Government lawmakers at Gordon House yesterday. However, they did not respond as they exited the Chamber.

When Golding continued his presentation next to Headquarters House, he charged that the failure to disclose the identity of the so-called “illicit six” MPs who are under investigation by the Integrity Commission for illicit enrichment remains a festering sore. He said this is made worse by the prime minister’s gag order on Cabinet ministers speaking publicly on these matters.

Golding also echoed previous concerns about the prime minister’s statutory declarations of assets, liabilities and income that have not been certified and published by the Integrity Commission for successive years.

The Opposition leader told his supporters that, had he been allowed to complete his presentation in Gordon House, he would have urged the prime minister to step aside.

“All I can say is, if I were in your position I would tek weh myself and hand over to someone else who is not compromised,” he said.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com