FOR the second time in less than a year, Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland, is presiding over a budget debate. Two days in, and he’s had his fair share of work to keep the House in order.You’d like to think that Members of Parliament know the general rules by which to abide; most notably, sticking to the Standing Orders (the parliamentary rule book) and not maligning anyone’s character. Those not expert on parliamentary rules and practices have had two main complaints, and have used mainly Facebook to point these out. First, many are annoyed that speakers on both sides of the House read a speech during the debate, as opposed to speaking extemporaneously, which is the most acceptable form of public debate, when looking and listening to the speaker is more enjoyable, as he/she seeks to employ public speech qualities as eye contact and gestures.

Secondly, another annoyance is the fact that some presenters employ Creole expressions (with some seeming to have no real command of the English language taught in schools) during their presentations. This, however, was not a bother for the Speaker.

The Speaker was more concerned with the weightier matters, and so Opposition Parliamentarian Neendkumar was the first to be upbraided when he chose to refer to the current Coalition Government as “de facto.”

As he used the expression, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, objected to the way he was describing the Government. When the Speaker asked the Opposition Parliamentarian to correct his language, Neendkumar sought to justify his actions by pointing out that there is a petition engaging the attention of the court regarding the general elections which ushered the APNU+AFC administration into office.

Nonetheless, Dr Scotland urged Neendkumar to refrain from describing the Government in that manner. “It ought not to be uttered by you. Freedom of speech is enjoyed by all of us in this Assembly. We cannot continue to pretend it is otherwise when it suits our purpose,” the Speaker declared.

However, after appearing reluctant to correct himself, the Speaker again ordered Neendkumar to correct his mistake. “If we make a mistake, is it so difficult to withdraw? I do not understand the reluctance of honourable members in this House to acknowledge an error and put it right.”

In response, Neendkumar said, “Mr Speaker, I withdraw, right?”

On another point, the Speaker urged members not to refer to civil servants who could not defend themselves in the House, making reference in particular to the presentation by Opposition MP Cornell Damon. That issue arose more than once on Tuesday.

Opposition Parliamentarian Harry Gill accused Regional Executive Officers in Regions won by the PPPC of stymieing efforts of the Regional Chairmen. A previous Opposition Parliamentarian, Alister Charlie, who had charged that only five gallons of fuel were being allocated to the Region Nine Chairman, accused the Government of discrimination. His statement was not objected to.

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, objected to Gill’s statement, however, referring the Speaker to his earlier admonition that reference should not be made to civil servants who cannot defend themselves in the parliamentary chambers.

Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira wanted the Speaker to say under what Standing Order he was restricting members of the House from mentioning an officer without calling name. The Speaker did not directly answer Teixeira’s question, but maintained his earlier injunction that a member should refrain from addressing someone who can be easily identifiable from what is said, but that someone is not able to defend themselves in the House.

Opposition Parliamentarian Priya Manickchand had earlier sought to utilise the Speaker’s admonition for Parliamentarians to stick to the Standing Orders when Gov’t MP Jermaine Figueira referred to a Champion of the Earth hoodwinking the people. She protested that even though Figueira did not call a name, the statement was libellous towards Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, saying that Jagdeo was the only ‘Champion of the Earth’. The Speaker did not respond, but thanked her for her observation.

Things became testy also during another point in the presentation by Opposition Parliamentarian Gill, who sought to accuse the Government of racism in the use of public school buses in Region Five, saying that the buses seem only to be picking up children of Afro-Guyanese descent in villages that are predominantly Afro-Guyanese and are strongholds of the Coalition Government.

Government’s Chief Whip, Amna Ally, objected, and accused Gill of misleading the Assembly. She wanted the Speaker to ask Gill to withdraw his accusation. Opposition Parliamentarian Juan Edghill then protested Ally’s objection. He wanted to know if the views given by the community to Parliamentarians cannot be expressed in the House.

The Speaker noted that freedom to speak on the views of the people must be guided by “reliable” testimony. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo rose to add that since Edghill was objecting on a matter that related to content of presentations in the House, the same Standing Order to which he referred speaks to relevance of presentation, and as such, Gill’s statements had no relevance to the Budget.