The PNM is accusing the Government of systematically undermining the Prime Minister’s Questions segment in the Parliament.
It says this was introduced in 2014 as an important mechanism through which the Prime Minister could be held directly accountable to the Parliament and the people of T&T.
It believes this has now been turned into a charade, claiming more than 90% of the questions submitted by the Opposition for answer have been denied.
It also claims that even when questions are permitted, it is being prevented from asking what it believes are legitimate supplemental questions.
The Opposition insists it will not to “participate in that pretence”.
“We will not dignify Prime Minister’s Questions by submitting questions into a process where the overwhelming majority of our questions are rejected and where meaningful supplemental questioning is blocked. Accountability cannot exist when the questions are predetermined, restricted or denied, while the Prime Minister is insulated from proper scrutiny,” says the party’s statement.
It also accused Government Ministers of increasingly invoking Standing Orders to avoid answering critical questions involving matters of significant public interest, adding that supplemental questions are being blocked, while Questions on Notice are routinely denied, deferred or delayed.
The Opposition is now calling for an urgent convening of the Standing Orders Committee to correct what it says is a “parliamentary charade”.
