House Speaker Responds to Opposition Leader

The Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow, has received a formal response to his protest regarding the notice period for the House meeting scheduled for today.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Valeria Woods, tells Barrow that the notice for today’s sitting is not in contravention of the Standing Orders.

“The Clerk of the National Assembly was notified on Sunday, June 23rd, by the Cabinet Secretary on behalf of the Executive for June 28th to be set aside for a House meeting.  This was brought to my attention and the notice went out on Monday, June 24th when the Orders of the Day were verified. I do appreciate the concern on notice; however, the notice for this meeting is not in contravention of the Standing Orders.”

She noted that since assuming office, efforts have been made in collaboration with the Clerk’s Office and the Cabinet Secretary to enhance notification practices. Although the Standing Orders do not specify a notice period for regular House meetings, the practice of providing at least one week’s notice has been adopted to facilitate the application of Standing Order 19(3) on Notice of Question.

“This effort has been undertaken since in Belize, by practice, all administrations to date have not utilized Standing Order 11 (1) of establishing House meetings weekly on Fridays,” Woods said.

The Speaker reminded Barrow that the notice of meetings and other Standing Orders are currently under review for proposed amendments. The Committee on Standing Orders is expected to set a date to consider these amendments before the year’s end.