By Prior Beharry
USING the words of newly-appointed King Charles III and 19th Century author Robert Louis Stevenson, President Paula-Mae Weekes called for Trinidad and Tobago Parliamentarians to put aside their selfish agendas and work for the wellbeing of all.
The President was speaking at the ceremonial opening of the Third Session of the 12th Parliament at a joint sitting of the Upper and Lower Houses at the Red House in Port of Spain on Monday.
She started her address by saying that the primary purpose of Parliament was for making laws and for “peace, order and good government” of Trinidad and Tobago.
President Weekes said, “We gather today in these august chambers to renew our efforts towards the fulfilment of this lofty objective.”
Then she quoted King Charles III who addressed the British MPs: “Parliament is the living and breathing instrument of our democracy.”
President Weekes again expressed condolences on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last Thursday at the age of 96. She is also expected to attend the funeral.
She said, “In the 60 years since the House of Representatives and Senate sat for the first time in this very building, and having just marked our 60th anniversary of independence, we have seen three Independent and 12 Republican parliaments in which the interests of the people should have been ventilated, the Executive held to account and critical laws vigorously debated.
“We have also survived a violent and deadly assault and experienced disruptive shouting matches, chaotic debates, votes of no confidence, walkouts, putouts, even allegations of airborne crockery.”
President Weekes said Parliament was the fountainhead of the laws and since August 18, 2006, when the Parliament Channel was launched, citizens have been able to check the work of the decorum, commitment and temperament of MPs.
She said, “To the average citizen, sittings of parliament seem more opportunities for finger pointing, ‘gallerying’ and ‘kicksin’, than fora for the conscientious making of laws that would directly affect and improve their lives.”
President Weekes said Parliament and its members have long been object of public derision.
She said, “The respect, trust and confidence that once characterised the relationship between parliamentarian and John Public have been squandered and whittled away, leaving little but disregard, suspicion and doubt as to the capabilities and motives of those elected and appointed to conduct the affairs of the nation.”
President Weekes added, “Please let us not find ourselves having to identify with the sentiments of Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson who wrote in 1887, regarding the British House of Commons, ‘We all know what Parliament is, and we are all ashamed of it’.”
President Scolds MPs at Red House Opening in 2020
She said, “Citizens want parliamentarians to put aside selfish agenda and work to secure the welfare and wellbeing of all.
“You are at the vanguard of upholding our democracy, tasked with representing the interests of your constituents, debating the germane issues that matter to Trinbagonians and making relevant and useful laws that will contribute to national development.
“Challenges, old and new, must be tackled head-on and with wisdom, industry and cooperation.”
President Weekes criticised the MPS for ugly party politics or a tit-for-tat partisan agenda, citing an African proverb that when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.
She then singled out MPs by calling their constituencies.
President Weekes said, “Whether you represent Diego Martin West (Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley) or Siparia (Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar), St Ann’s East (Nyan Gadsby-Dolly) or Barataria/San Juan (Saddam Hosein), Arima (Pennelope Beckles) or Fyzabad (Dr Lackram Bodoe), it is your constituents who feel the heat and suffer the repercussions of your inability or refusal to work together for the common good.
“The people of Trinidad and Tobago whom you offered and were chosen to serve deserve better—much better.”
She added, “You promised to bear true faith and allegiance to Trinidad and Tobago, uphold the Constitution and the law, and conscientiously and impartially discharge the responsibilities to the people of Trinidad and Tobago upon which you entered. You made solemn and significant promises to the nation, promises that you are duty-bound to keep and hold in high regard. No dispute or grievance should ever take precedence over your oath and role as parliamentarians and servants of the republic.”
The President had echoed similar sentiments at the opening of the Red House after renovations in January 2020.
Click to see related stories below:
President Scolds MPs at Red House Opening
19 photos from Red House Opening January 2020
Slide show of the opening of Red House in January 2020
The Queen is Dead: Long Live the King
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I fully endorse the words of the President. At present the 42 MP’s are not attending to the tears of theirs constituents or the nation. Totally selfish and racist politics.