Khan: 2015 changes give Speaker more power

Former Health Minister Fuad Khan said changes to the standing orders, implemented in 2015 under the UNC, gives the Speaker of the House more power and has had a negative impact on the Opposition.

In a comment posted on Khan’s Facebook page, he said, “The Speaker is considered autocratic and bias. But are you aware that Wade (Mark) as Speaker under (the Kamla Persad-Bissessar led government) changed the standing orders to allow more power to the Speaker? This was to allow the government to keep the Opposition in serious check.”

It said the government who created the new standing orders are now the opposition. “The created whip is now whipping the creator of the whip.”

In a brief interview with Newsday, Khan said he did not mean to say this was done deliberately.

“It is just that the way it was done gave the Speaker so much power and we are now paying the price for it.”

Khan’s post was in response to the walkout of the House of Representatives led by Bissessar on Tuesday in protest at extra time given to Prime Minister Keith Rowley to talk in support of a government motion to Adopt the Report of the JSC on the Constitution (Amendment) (Tobago Self-Government) Bill 2020.

He said in June 2015, the then UNC government changed the standing orders which gave the Speaker more power. He said standing order one allows for the House to indicate to the Speaker to control the speech of the minority and standing order five indicates that the Speaker can make rules and it cannot be challenged.

He said the changes were done in such a way that when the speaking time is cut, the only people affected are the Opposition.

Khan said former UNC political leader Basdeo Panday said the speaking time in the House of Representatives must never be cut because the only people who will suffer is the Opposition as the government usually has other things to be addressed on the standing order.

“If you look at the whole scenario (during Tuesday’s debate), the standing orders basically gave the Speaker power. That is why the Speaker today can use the standing order to do whatever she desires because it is there legally (since) 2015.”

He said this has made it difficult for the Opposition to develop arguments as the Speaker has the power to stop arguments from becoming tedious and repetitive.

“If you look at the (Speaker’s) chair, there is a scale. The scale is not a balanced scale. It jots more to the right than the left which shows the Speaker leans on the side of the government, so if you give the Speaker power the only people who are stymied are the Opposition.”

Khan said Parliament is a place to parlay or talk. “It is not a court of law where everybody shuts up so one person can speak…If 19 people say the same thing, you cannot shut them up because they are developing their point.”

Khan said he believes the standing orders need to be changed.