Please allow me the space to address a matter which somehow seemed to escape the focus and attention of the task force involved in the recent constitution reform exercise. The recent 'faux pas' by the current Speaker of the House, raised once again the question of the need to install a speaker with no perceived biases or political affiliation. While some very sweeping reforms have been proposed for the eventual determination of who will become our Members of Parliament following general elections, and new rules and terms of engagement have been implemented for greater efficiency in the Parliament, not so, for the office of the Speaker.
If we are to move toward less contentious and adversarial relationship between the speaker and the MPs, I wish to put the following suggestions in the public domain:
�2 That the nomination and selection of the speaker should not be the prerogative of only the party with a majority of representatives;
�2 That a body of persons representing various national interests groups be constituted for this purpose;
�2 That the body should consist of one representative from:
i. Each political party with a representative in the House
ii. Each umbrella organisation of the Trade Unions
iii. The umbrella organisation for NGO's
iv. The T &T Chamber of Commerce
v. The Employers Consultative Association
vi. The Manufacturer's Association
vii. The IRO
It should be noted that nominations for Speaker will be invited from each political party having a representative in the House. These nominations must be in keeping with the standing requirements for suitability to be a member of the House.
Prior to the inaugural meeting of new Parliament, all nominations along with supporting Curriculum Vitae must be submitted to the President, who, as the Head of the Parliament, will inform the Committee of the nominees.
The Committee for Selection of the Speaker will meet in the Parliament Chamber and vote by secret ballot, to select the Speaker Designate. At the inaugural meeting of the Parliament, the first act of the President would be to install the Speaker as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives.
The process as outlined gives no numerical advantage to any organisation on the Selection Committee. The same procedure can be used to select the Senate president. Let the public discussion begin.
Simon Noel