Golding hits back at claims of misogyny against Juliet Holness

 

Opposition Leader Mark Golding has hit back at assertions by government members that his comment about House Speaker Juliet Holness is misogynistic.

 

Commenting on the importance of transparency and accountability to good governance during his contribution to the Budget Debate on Tuesday, Mr. Golding noted that having the head of Parliament who is the spouse of the head of Government, does not sit well with the tradition that the Speaker must act independently of the government of the day.

 

This triggered an unprecedented walk out of government members led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, leaving the Parliament without a quorum.

 

Some government members have since labelled Mr. Golding's comment as an attack on the office of the Speaker of the House.

 

In response, Mr. Golding said the government is pushing an unfair and inappropriate characterisation of what he said during his budget presentation.  

 

Mr. Golding reiterated that the opposition has taken issue with how the House Speaker has been dealing with proceedings of Parliament. 

 

"In particular, the way in which reports from the Auditor General are not being tabled on a timely basis. These are reports on the running and management of public bodies. They are often very important matters of public interest, and they are not being tabled as they used to be. As they reach Parliament they should be tabled at the next sitting. That is not happening," he said Wednesday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines. 

 

"I'm told that there are two reports which arrived in January and still have not been tabled. Also, certain reports from the Integrity Commission, the Speaker has said are going to be sent to an oversight committee of Parliament, which was set up really to monitor how the Integrity Commission is performing, whether they have adequate human resources, financial resources to try and support their efforts to be an effective agency. It is not intended to be a review chamber for reports that they write. And the government dominates that committee," the Opposition Leader argued. 

 

He said the parliamentary opposition is to meet Thursday morning to discuss how to proceed with the remainder of the Budget Debate following Tuesday's walk out by government members during his presentation. 

 

The Budget Debate is set to continue in the House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon with Prime Minister Andrew Holness making his contribution.?