Speaker awaits official ‘teacup’ report

Even though the fracas between MPs Dr Keith Rowley and Chandresh Sharma took place within the precincts of Parliament, House Speaker Barry Sinanan stated yesterday he was yet to be “officially informed” about the incident. He conceded this was a “little odd” given the degree of  seriousness which both MPs had attached to the incident, and he had been told nothing thus far. “I suppose tomorrow (when Parliament meets) will be the earliest time they could make a formal move, so let’s wait till tomorrow and see,” he stated. “I mean it is (at present a case of) ‘he say, them say, we say and everybody say’ — Nobody has informed me about anything other than you — the media. And until I am informed officially I could do nothing. I cannot take cognisance of what is in the press.

Somebody has to inform me officially and there is a procedure to do that and when that is done then I will act,” he said. Asked whether he picked up that something was amiss when the Parliament met on Wednesday at 1.30 pm, (since the incident happened at 1 pm), he replied, “I left the Parliament about 3.30 and the only time I got wind of this thing was when my secretary told me that Mr Sharma wanted to get in touch with me. I tried phoning him, I didn’t get through on his cell (phone) and later on I got a call from the Clerk (of the House, Jacqui Sampson), who told me of the incident.”