The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HOUSE Speaker Halson Moultrie has branded a government COVID-19 testing exercise for parliamentarians and Senators Friday a “purely political exercise.”

House staffers were also invited to get tested during that exercise, he told The Tribune.

In an interview Friday, Speaker Moultrie said he did not participate in the exercise because he viewed it as government attempting to “save face” over an embarrassing situation earlier this week at Parliament when he abruptly adjourned the sitting over concerns his staff were exposed to COVID-19.

It came after a senior staffer tested positive for the virus.

The Speaker was incensed that the House had not been sanitised after the staffer tested positive and that other members of the staff were called out of isolation against his orders, among other issues.

“I got some inquiries yesterday from a number of members of Parliament,” he said Friday. “One had sent me a notice that appeared to have come from the government whip requesting all parliamentarians, including Senators, to attend at the Office of the Prime Minister for a testing exercise at 9am this morning (Friday).

“I was unable to respond to the inquiries at the time because I had gotten no notice of the event, but I couldn’t say if it was real or fake but at about 6pm I got a call from Cabinet office to invite me to participate in the exercise and later on at about 8:10pm I got a call from the government whip indicating that as a member of Parliament the Speaker should attend.

“I did not attend this morning because I did not need to get a free test. I was able to go and pay for my own test and I am waiting on the result, but I thought that the exercise in my estimation was all that I was seeking from the very beginning when I contacted the Prime Minister and the Leader of Government Business to have the matter resolved.”

“…I don’t think that the Speaker should participate in an exercise that appeared to be completely political exercise of damage control and saving face after facing an embarrassing situation as the former speaker puts it in Parliament on Wednesday, which needed not to have happened if the executive branch of the government and Prime Minister recognised that the legislative branch is the first arm of the government. It is a separate arm of the government, and it is not to be controlled by the executive branch.

“Once we can arrive at that recognition, we should have no difficulty. I am prepared to function as a professional person in that capacity. As a matter of fact, just two weeks ago the prime minister called the Speaker to request leave to present his housing programme and the Speaker acceded to his request and he was permitted to do so. It is not a matter of personality and egos in my estimation. It’s a matter or procedural correctness and once we perform and we act in consistency with the constitution, with the Powers and Privileges Act and with the roles of Parliament there would be no issues.”

Asked whether staff had been included, Speaker Moultrie said he was of the understanding they too were tested at the Office of the Prime Minister.

"First of all, the staff were instructed to quarantine by the Speaker. After I did not get an answer from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health I made the decision for the staff quarantine because the House of Assembly had not been sanitised and the staff members indicated to me that they were unable to pay for the proper COVID-19 test and so the request from Tuesday was simply to facilitate those staff members who were unable to pay for their test.

“I just thought it was odd that a situation would be established that everyone has to assemble at the Office of the Prime Minister to have such a test when there are so many individual clinics and other government facilities, like the Princess Margaret Hospital, where such a test could have been facilitated.

“That’s why i thought it as a purely political exercise this morning. My understanding is that the staff were invited to have a free COVID-19 test and that is all the Speaker was seeking to have done.”

Former House Speaker Dr Kendal Major has said the abrupt adjournment of the House on Wednesday was “grossly unfortunate”, insisting government should not have been caught in an “embarrassing” situation.”

“I thought the Speaker was correct in his frustration,” the former House Speaker said Thursday.

“I thought he was correct on principle. I think the result of his actions, though, was unfortunate. I think it was unfortunate that it had to have gotten to that point to shut down the House and conduct no business. I think that was grossly unfortunate and ought not to have happened in our democracy.

“The case of COVID is a proper reason to sanitise and shut the House down and protect the staff and the members. That’s appropriate. The process of what happened is what concerns me; the fact that he had to chastise the Prime Minister and the leader of government business in their presence. They just sat there like children being scolded and he went on to close the House down for a day that he chose. It was embarrassing and ought not to have happened.”

Dr Major said a deeper appreciation for governance would have prevented such an embarrassing situation from occurring.