Donaldson Romeo, opposition member of the Montserrat Legislative Assembly, plans to table a motion of no confidence in Speaker Charliena White at the next sitting.
The action comes after the speaker blocked him from presenting a resolution on increasing financial support for the vulnerable, that he sought to have the assembly debate.
White disallowed the resolution earlier this year on the grounds that she deemed it incompatible with Montserrat’s parliamentary processes.
In a letter to Romeo and other members of the assembly, dated 28 February, she said members of the opposition are restricted from bringing motions which would have a decision being taken leading to drawing money from the consolidated fund.
But the opposition member has argued that rule 28 of the assembly’s standing orders allow any member of the Montserrat Legislative Assembly to propose a resolution.
He said her decision is “a serious violation and I can’t allow it to happen”, adding that it could shape the future of parliament in Montserrat.
Fundamental right
Romeo spoke in length to Mike Jarvis on his interview show ‘On the Mic with Mike’ about the issue on 14 April.
He began by talking about his resolution which asks the government to consider an increase in support for the “working poor”, pensioners and others with low incomes.
The opposition MLA said many working people in Montserrat receive salaries under EC$2,000 a month, and about 40% of public workers are considered “working poor”.
Meanwhile, numerous retirees including former politicians, teachers and nurses get a pension of under EC$2,000 a month, Romeo added.
“I was hoping that they would consider the increase based on a study that was done in 2013 that said it will take EC$1,200 to $1,400 per month to feed one individual properly,” he said.
Romeo said the speaker’s decision is not a matter of just denying him the resolution, but denying the entire assembly the “fundamental right” to represent the people effectively.
Speaker’s position
During the interview, Jarvis read out part of the speaker’s February letter to the parliamentarians.
It said: “The honourable member made a request to table a resolution in the house, which would have required the government to consider changing the social welfare payments from $900 to $1,200.”
However, Romeo said an increase in welfare is not mentioned in any of the three drafts of the resolution that he presented to White in January.
“What parliament would have been doing is discussing what has been proposed by the resolution, not deciding on a figure as to how much would be needed,” he insisted.
In her letter, the speaker said she offered an alternative to the resolution in the form of a “take note motion” which allows for non-binding debate without a conclusive decision.
But Romeo responded in his interview with Jarvis, “that’s not what we go to parliament to do – we go to Parliament to debate and discuss and make decisions”.
A unique position
Romeo said the opposition had never presented a resolution in parliament before he did last year.
The denial of the latest resolution means the opposition has lost the opportunity to influence the budget which will be presented at the next sitting of the assembly.
He said the motion will be listed on the order paper before the budget reading, and suggested that an urgent sitting should have be scheduled instead.
“It will be very awkward to have a vote of no confidence in the speaker on the very same day as presenting the budget – I thought the government would have realised that,” he said.
He told Jarvis that he is open to conversation with the speaker to resolve the matter before it reaches the assembly.
“Clearly I’d hope that they would wake up and realise that this needs to be settled amicably,” he said.
