By FRANCIS JOSEPH
The House of Representatives came to an abrupt end on Friday afternoon all because an Opposition MP failed to say “I beg to Move” on his private motion.
Arouca/Lopinot MP, Marvin Gonzales brought a private motion on Private Members Day calling on the Government to outline measures being taken to address water supply issues in the country.
When his 45 minute presentation was over, he simply sat down and never said “I beg to Move.” But Diego Martin North East MP, Colm Imbert, got up to second the motion, to which House Speaker Jagdeo Singh asked, “second to what?”
Singh said “well we have a procedural problem there…a serious procedural problem. Have a seat, your time is up. Members have to be disciplined. We have a serious issue here. Check the record…no utterance of “I beg to Move.” within the 45 minutes.”
Singh told Gonzales he never moved his motion after the 45 minutes had expired. Singh then suspended the sitting for 15 minutes to see if the motion “survived”.
Then there was uproar as Singh left the Chamber.
When the House resumed, Singh explained why the motion and debate could not proceed. He said the broad issue was whether the motion survives because the person who brought it did not move it. “The answer to that is a plain and an obvious no.”
Singh continued, “I did not create these rules you know.”
The Speaker said he has no authority to extend the time.
Gonzales then asked the Speaker to show where in the Standing Orders does it state that the “I beg to Move” must be done within the 45 minutes.
Singh replied, “It stands to reason that the mover of the motion must do so within the 45 minutes.” He said if this is not done, there is nothing to stop members from speaking for more than 45 minutes.
After all the back and forth, the motion failed.
The House was then adjourned to next Wednesday at 10.30 am.
