Attacks on ‘speaker’ for disallowing the use of ‘corruption’ in parliament unfair, hypocritical – AG

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, said the Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir should not be blamed for prohibiting the word ‘corruption’ in parliament.

This ordeal began when Speaker Nadir recently reinforced the rules, barring the use of the word ‘corruption’ during parliamentary sessions.

The AG reminded Guyanese that the decision was a collective one made by the house and deemed the action toward honourable Nadir “unfair and hypocritical.”

“I don’t necessarily support or object to the use of that word. That is not the issue here. The issue is the unfair attack on the Speaker of the National Assembly for prohibiting the use of that word,” Minister Nandlall stated.

He made the remarks during his weekly televised programme ‘Issues in the News’ on Tuesday.  

“The speaker alone must not be hung out to dry. In fact, the speaker is not responsible. The speaker is simply enforcing rules that we have made as members of parliament to regulate our affairs,” the AG pointed out. 

He indicated that Guyana’s constitution clearly states that parliament could make rules to conduct its affairs.  

“The Standing Orders are made by us to regulate our own conduct,” he stressed.

Minister Nandlall noted that it is morally wrong for one parliamentarian to convey the impression that the speaker is muzzling debates in the parliament due to the prohibition against the usage of certain terminologies.

He said anyone familiar with parliament and parliamentary processes would know that there are rules governing what is said there and the basic behaviour of members and visitors.

“There are various rules contained in the standing orders and in standard parliamentary practices regarding the manner of speaking. And likewise, there is in every parliament, a glossary of expressions that are considered unparliamentary expressions.

And parliamentarians are prohibited by the rules of parliament from using these types of terminologies and these expressions. That is the standard set by almost every parliament on the planet. And it is nothing new [since] it dates back for centuries,” he explained.  

Guyana, like the rest of the Caribbean and Commonwealth, inherited its parliamentary practices and procedures from Great Britain due to its historical colonial experience.