Baboolal rules against Dumas

SENATE PRESIDENT Dr Linda Baboolal ruled ag-ainst Public Uti-lities Minister Rennie Dumas on Tuesday saying he couldn’t use Sta-nding Order 17 (1) as the basis for declining to give an answer to any question filed in Par-liament.

But Baboolal also told the Senate if a Minister felt strongly, for whatever reason, that he ought not to provide an answer to a question, he could refuse to do so “and the Chair has no power under the Standing Orders to compel him to give an answer.”before Baboolal even gave her ruling, Dumas apparently recanted, circulating copies of the names, he had originally refused to give of person chosen by SWMCOL to select companies-/contractors for the Co-mmunity Env-ironment Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP). Dumas had said last Tuesday he would not provide the names of the m-embers to  the Senate (and by extension the country) because it was contrary to the intention of Standing Order 17 (1) (b) and would expose individuals to “possible and unforeseen circumstances”.But the Senate President, on Tuesday,said the po-int of order raised by the Minister “is dismissed.”

“Standing Order 17 (1)(b) states that names can only be included in order to render a question intelligible. It does not forbid, outright, the inclusion of n-ames.” “ I have carefully researched this matter and I am satisfied that if names are integral to the subject of the question as well as the answer, Standing Order 17(1)(b) does not apply,” Baboolal stated.She added that questions to Min-isters had long been established as the main procedural me-chanism by which Parliament fulfils its obligation of calling the Cabinet to account. She said that  while there were no expressed rules that governed the form of replies to parliamentary questions, established parliamentary procedure dictated that replies should be as brief as possible and be phrased in such language that does not promote disorder in the House. Baboolal noted that Government Min-isters were also obligated to answer qu-estions posed by other Senators under the doctrine of collective responsibility.