–PPP behaviour in Parliament unacceptable, says President Granger

WHILE describing the behaviour of the Parliamentary Opposition in the National Assembly over the past two months as “vulgarity”, President David Granger has called on Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to get a hold of his members so that such acts of disrespect never recur in the National Assembly.

Speaking with reporters Wednesday at State House, the Head-of-State said the disrespectful behaviour of the Opposition is uncalled for.
“It is a level of vulgarity that I referred to since November 2; we have never seen it before and I hope we’d never see it again. There is no place for that in the National Assembly,” said President Granger.

On November 2, 2017, the President addressed the National Assembly but the majority of his speech was inaudible as the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) hoisted placards and shouted while the President addressed the House.
On Monday, Opposition MP Juan Edghill defied the orders of Speaker, Dr Barton Scotland to sit down and subsequently leave the Parliament Chambers.
Edghill’s inaction coupled with continuous outbursts towards the Speaker resulted in the suspension of the Committee of Supply when the Consideration of Estimates was being deliberated on.

The police were called in and a scuffle ensued between the Opposition parliamentarians and the law enforcement officers. Edghill was suspended by the Speaker for the next four sittings of the House and will not be financially compensated and or given benefits for that period.

“It is a very poor display on the part of Mr Edghill and his colleagues to demonstrate to the public and our children that the Honourable House should be the scene of such a disorderly show,” said President Granger.

“I can’t imagine that the Chancellor of the Judiciary would have to put up with that in the Court of Appeal; she is the head and I can’t imagine that the Speaker should be faced with that type of vulgarity. We have three branches of Government: the Judicial, the Legislative and the Executive, and every branch has its head and the head of the legislative branch must be treated with respect,” he continued.

MUST BE RESPECTED
The President made it clear that the heads of the three branches of Government must be respected at all times.

“We don’t treat the Chancellor like that, we don’t treat the Speaker like that and you don’t treat the President like that,” he declared.

Asked whether he would meet with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on the matter, the President said he does not have a problem meeting Jagdeo–a former President–on any matter he (Jagdeo) wishes to raise with him (Granger). “I think that the treatment meted out to me on November 2 was completely uncalled for. I think the treatment meted out to the Speaker this week was completely uncalled for and I think the Leader of the Opposition needs to deal with the cultural issues within his party.”
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on Tuesday described the move by the Parliamentary Opposition as “gross disorderly conduct”.

“Their bad behaviour cannot be rewarded,” said the Prime Minister even as several other ministers of government condemned the Opposition’s behaviour.
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, who has been a parliamentarian for 20 years, said Monday’s ruckus was unprecedented.
“I have never witnessed anything like this,” he told reporters in the corridors of Parliament. “The Speaker has always been shown respect and when the Speaker has invited a member to sit, be quiet or refrain or withdraw, that has always been complied with; so we have set a new precedent today,” he continued.

Trotman, who now serves as Minister of Natural Resources under the APNU+AFC Coalition Government, said “We have descended to a new low.”
“I also want to say that none of us would like to see chaos erupting further in the House, but at the end of the day the parliamentary system is one where the Speaker is a presiding officer and that presiding officer must be shown respect.

“The dignity of the House has to be maintained,” he stressed, noting that it is important for the members of the Opposition to try to de-escalate the situation.
Similarly, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said the matter is not about the Opposition and Government, but about what is the lawful position.

“This has nothing to do with who can speak; it is a question of the rule of law. The Speaker is the person who controls the business in this House and Edghill or no other member of the House can decide that they can violate these rules of the House by refusing to take action when the Speaker tells them to do so.”

Harmon posited that should such behaviour be allowed, the National Assembly would descend into a place of chaos as no one respects the Speaker’s ruling and can do as they desire.
“So Mr Edghill must know, the PPP must know, that the Speaker’s ruling must be obeyed and they can stay in there for as long as they want but it has to be obeyed,” he said.