Suitable conduct for Parliamentarians THE EDITOR, Sir: I ATTENDED the sitting of the House of Representatives for the first time, on June 5, 2001. The experience left me feeling quite disturbed and unsure as to the purpose of Parliament. My first observation was the very late arrival of most members of the House who would be able to form a quorum. In fact the meeting began at 2:30 p.m. instead of the scheduled 2:00 p.m. During the meeting most members were engaged in private conversations, many of them kept walking around the room and changing seats, in order to converse with each other. There were those who were arriving late and others leaving, even while the different Ministers were making presentations to the House. Didn't the Minister of Local Government and Community Development deserve a fair hearing, especially as the content of his presentation was going to change the course of history for Jamaica? In short, the scene downstairs was one of utter disorder, discord and disrespect. I want to take this opportunity to share my understanding of parliamentary procedure. It is a set of rules for conduct, at meetings. It allows everyone to be heard and to make decisions...without confusion! It is important because it is a time-tested method of conducting business at meetings and public gatherings, and can be adapted to fit the needs of any organisation. Please clarify for me if as Jamaicans our expectation should be based on the aforementioned understanding or, was the conduct exhibited the acceptable standard and norm. If the latter is what we should expect and accept, my question is, "Has the sitting of the Houses of Parliament in Jamaica outlived its raison d'tre and significance?" I am, etc., S. GRAHAM BARRETT P.O. Box 5182 Kingston 8
|
