Junior Natural Resources Minister, Simona Broomes has come under fire from the public after filming herself in the Parliament Chambers in a parody video of a woman who is known for her indelicate travel videos.
Some of her colleagues defended her, but today, the Speaker Dr Barton Scotland suggested her actions were not in keeping with the decorum expected of Parliamentarians.
“The disregard for our House is taking new forms. Recently the Assembly formed the background for a parody … it was drawn to my attention by a member of the public. An Honourable Member took the Assembly viral. Our predecessors left us a legacy of decorum and good practice for this house. I ask, what shall we leave our successors?” the Speaker stated.
Dr Scotland went on to chide parliamentarians for displaying little regard for the honour of the House through their actions since the commencement of the 11th parliament.
According to Dr Scotland, the behaviours are all avoidable and none of them excusable.
“The then most junior member of the House took to social media to make uninformed comments in reference to the Speaker…Not long after senior members of the House choose to conduct themselves in similar fashion, making criticisms which involved the Speaker as Head of this Institution … that practice has continued whenever some Honourable Members are displeased with rulings of the Speaker,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Speaker did not agree that the Opposition Leader BharratJagdeo was verbally abused by Minister Raphael Trotman.
In a recent sitting of the House, a video of Trotman lashing out at the Opposition Leader also went viral. There was a protest from the PPP that the Speaker allowed Trotman to say whatever he wanted without intervening.
In the Trotman case, the Opposition had accused the Speaker of being biased, saying Trotman was allowed to carry on, and their members were being upbraided or prevented from speaking.
