Speaker schools Opposition Leader on Standing Orders

– as they clash over private members business

Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir and Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon on Monday clashed over whether issues on the order paper brought by members of the Opposition should have taken precedence over Government business.
Harmon had issued a statement before the start of the sitting, in which he accused the Speaker of denying the Opposition an opportunity to have their business dealt with at the 32nd Sitting of the National Assembly.

“This is the day Opposition business takes precedence. In the event there is no Opposition business, Government business will be dealt with. What the PPP has done is ensure that our main business be placed on the shelf… the (Government) has sunk to another low by hijacking the rest of the sitting to deal with their business, after 64 days without Parliament,” Harmon accused.
However, Nadir kicked off the sitting by reading directly from the relevant Standing Orders to explain to the Opposition how the business of the chamber is governed. He noted that based on the Standing Orders, Government business takes precedence on every day except every fourth sitting.
“This is to educate members on the Standing Orders. There has been some criticism by the honourable member of today’s sittings. And I want to draw your attention to Standing Order 24.2. And we can go to school if we want. And 24.2 reads, subject to the provision of these standing orders, Government business shall have precedence on every day except every fourth sitting, when private members business shall have precedence.”

“And private members business includes any business outside Government, be it committees. And the Opposition in our Parliament is not one party. Private business can come from any Opposition member. (And) 24.3 says Government business shall consist of motions proposed and bills sponsored by Government, Ministers of parliamentary secretaries and shall be set down in such order as the Government sees fit,” Nadir said.
On the other hand, he noted that private members business shall be set down on the order paper by the clerk, in the order in which they qualify. Nadir explained that when the maturity period for private members business arrives, it is then brought up on the order paper.
“In particular I am accused of not putting certain things on the order paper or reducing this particular sitting, to written replies. Again, I will say, a member decides whether a question will be oral or written. And I, yes, do have some amount of authority to moving questions from oral to written,” he said, but noted that all questions on the order paper were designated for written replies by the very members.