Government officials blamed the Opposition for a failed water motion, defending the Speaker’s ruling and rejecting claims of political interference.
The Government has defended the actions of House Speaker Jagdeo Singh and blamed the Opposition for the collapse of a motion on the country’s water supply problems in Parliament on Friday.
Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Nicholas Morris said the procedural failure was the responsibility of the Opposition, rejecting suggestions that parliamentary officials or the Speaker had prevented the motion from being debated. Morris also defended Leader of Government Business Barry Padarath, who criticised the Opposition following the incident.
“What is critical is that Mr Gonzalez, the Chief Whip, is no junior to Parliament,” Morris told reporters. He pointed to Marvin Gonzales’ experience as a former minister and Opposition Chief Whip, arguing that his parliamentary experience made the procedural error particularly difficult to explain.
Gonzales had spent his allotted 45 minutes presenting a motion calling on the Government to address ongoing disruptions to the national water supply. However, after completing his presentation, he took his seat without formally moving the motion with the customary words “I beg to move.” Opposition MP Colm Imbert then attempted to second the motion.
Singh ruled that the motion could not proceed because Gonzales had failed to move it before his speaking time expired. The Speaker said he had warned Gonzales that his time was running out and that the Standing Orders did not allow him to extend the allotted period.
The Speaker subsequently suspended the sitting to review the Standing Orders. On resumption, he maintained that the motion had failed because it had not been formally moved within the permitted time. Singh also said the House could have suspended the Standing Orders by vote to allow the motion to proceed, but the Government did not support that option.
Morris said the Government had been prepared to answer the Opposition’s concerns about the water supply and rejected any suggestion that the Government benefited from the motion’s failure.
He said the incident represented another instance in which the Opposition had failed to complete its own parliamentary business, while defending Padarath’s position that the Government was required to respect the Speaker’s ruling and parliamentary procedure.
The Government has also rejected allegations that Singh acted with political bias. Officials maintain that the Speaker’s decision was based on parliamentary procedure rather than a Government request to prevent debate on the country’s water problems. Padarath said the Government was prepared to respond to the motion and defend its record and plans for improving the national water supply.