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By Kieron Murdoch | Opinion Contributor
We are still somewhat in disbelief at the events that transpired in the Lower House of Parliament on Wednesday, December 11th, 2024 leading to the conclusion of the debate on the 2025 national budget.
Sixteen grown-ass men and women began bickering like children over who should speak next, and when speakers on either side refused to do so, the debate was aborted when only 5 of the 16 MPs had contributed.
Sir Steardoy Benjamin, Sir Molwyn Joseph, Sir Robin Yearwood, Charles Fernandez, Chet Greene, Daryl Matthew, Anthony Smith, Trevor Walker, Sherfield Bowen, Algernon Watts and Kelvin Simon all sat in Parliament and refused to speak on the 2025 budget as part of an effort to win an extremely petty game of insisting who goes first. This is what Parliament has been reduced to in this country.
Not one of them should receive a salary for December. Not one. The contempt and disdain they have collectively displayed for the institution to which they were elected is unimaginable.
Where are we going as a nation when petty bullshit stands in the way of the effective management of national parliamentary proceedings? Is this how meaningless Parliament has become?
On what planet is this supposed to be good enough? You tell us. On what planet are we supposed to hold our heads up with pride and point to these conceited useless buffoons and say, “Those are our elected representatives,” who cannot manage to stow their childish egos long enough to get through an afternoon of discussion during what is supposed to be an important annual parliamentary feature.
How would we feel if we saw a headline emerge on an international news portal stating: “Antigua: Budget Debate Aborted as Govt and Opposition Argue Over Who Should Speak Next”.
Why are we content to allow those we entrusted to make laws, debate policy and represent our interests to pappyshow themselves and us in the process?
And while some amongst us are foolish and myopic enough to be pointing fingers at either side in support of their party, this is the 2nd year in a row that the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party and the United Progressive Party have forged a coalition of stupidity to abort the national budget debate in the Lower House on the basis that neither wishes to have the other set the order of who will speak when.
What we saw in Parliament last week was a total disgrace – Ministers of government content to say absolutely nothing about the previous year’s worth of spending, decisions, and projections for the future, and opposition MPs and so-called “Shadow Ministers” who have a year’s worth of policy to criticize but who are so daft and so inept that they feel they must wait for the relevant Minister to speak first, or else they cannot find anything to say, and would rather not speak at all.
These people are a disgrace to our nation. They bring nothing to the table. Nothing. Parliament has always been functionally handicapped due to the massive overlap of executive and legislative members and the small number of MPs overall.
The institution has many weaknesses, yes, but it still is the legislature, and is worthy of being treated with respect.
Instead, they sit quietly in Parliament collecting the people’s money for doing this type of utter bullshit, and then flock to their keyboards and radio stations with the most to say. It is beyond sickening at this point.
They neglect the duties of the offices to which they are sworn and spend time instead trying to one-up each other as if they were adolescents playing Call of Duty on a Saturday evening in one of their mother’s living rooms.
People need to make a connection between the unworthiness of the people they elect and the fact that as a nation, we remain underdeveloped, still grapple with severe poverty, and struggle to get efficient services from our public sector. Wednesday’s proceedings should be sufficient to demonstrate why we are unable to achieve faster progress as a nation.
About the writer:
Kieron Murdoch is an opinion contributor at antigua.news. He worked as a journalist and later as a radio presenter in Antigua and Barbuda for eight years, covering politics and governance especially. If you have an opinion on the issues raised in this editorial and you would like to submit a response by email to be considered for publication, please email staff@antigua.news.
They have no self control so disgraceful
This being a highlight of event in Antigua is just that bad. It shows that there are a set of unprofessional immature people running and trying to run this country. This is a revolving act of assness that just won’t stop. its almost as if politics in this country is a little cartoon and somehow we adults are the children voting and suscribing to the channels. when will the act end?
We in Antigua have very short memories.
It was just a couple of years when the opposition walk out of parliament because of Alpha Nero and the government side still debated it and pass the acquisition of the vessel .
Why now they could do the same on something thet is much more important?
Don’t you think the government ministers should have presented their presentation giving account of their stewardship about their ministry and how the allocated money were spent. Then after their presentation the opposition members present and debate the government ministers presentation afterwards the government ministers given the opportunity to reply to the opposition predictions
They all should be fired. A bunch of pompous a*** especially maulwyn Joseph and forget the stupid honorable business and sir stuff you should be in jail boy..
“Stone” obviously has a problem with the ruling party, and his comments are really not worth reading. You and Kieron, fine bed-fellows, equally yoked, want desperately to excuse the UPP reps for their ghetto tactics in the honorable House last week. This is Kieron’s rebranded effort which seems to have gathered at least one very mossy STONE! How dare those two UPP hooligans dictate to both the Speaker and the Hon. Prime Minister the order in which arguments were to be presented during the Debate, especially when they chose to show up late for the post-lunch continuation. Then the rabid “Chivas Regal Accident” reveals sheepishly that he left his notes at home! Where else in the world do we hear such crap! Somebody had to stand up to them. And the Hon. PM did just that. Not just because two not-even-cute infants are in the process of throwing a tantrum should a responsible adult-in-charge just give in. The Speaker of the House did NOT give in and neither did the Hon.PM. At the end of it all, the one from All Saints East and St Luke remained slumped in his chair oblivious to the continued debate which was way above his comprehension, while the other one, effectively leashed and muzzled, could only sheepishly mutter improvised nonsense since he forgot his homework at home.
No Kieron, no Stone, there is no comparison here. They should both know by now that they are no match, at any level, for the Hon. PM. He gave them just the amount of rope they needed to hang themselves and, this time round, they did not disappoint.
For as long as you decrepit corrupt goons run this country, it will forever be a stinking shit heap with rot and poverty everywhere. How was VC Bird day btw? I was on Market Street the evening before and took in the filth, stench, garbage, dirt, sewage, moss, slime, vagrants, homeless, gambling, and vice surrounding the famed dirty VC Bird Bust.
I find it fitting that you and your party stalwarts gather in such a rotten and filthy place each year to commemorate the legacy of one of your party’s founders and most influential historical leaders.
It is a testament to your failure as a government – the inability to regulate St. John’s, to clean up the market, to provide cleaner and more orga ised vending opportunities for sellers, to revamp public transport, to address guttering and drainage and basic infrastructure, to address sanitation, to deal will vagrancy, or to lead by example in creating a sense of national pride in this country as opposed to a national sense of entitlement to patronage and habdouts.
Well said Unfaithful Non-National ……..
Actions or THE LACK of Actions Speak Louder Than Words …….
…… A Bunch of Promises (Words) …. that FAIL to Materialize over Several Budget Presentations……
And The BULK of the Other Faithful and Unfaithful Nationals and Non-Nationals ……. We are JUST AS GUILTY for the State of THIS Nation …..Sitting on our Posteriors ….. While S – – – – is being Continually THROWN in Our Faces by The Ones Chosen by US to Administer THIS Nation!!!!!
……….. We Should ALL be ASHAMED Of Ourselves for Our LACK OF ACTION to Do Something to SAVE This Country for Our Children, Grandchildren, Great Grandchildren and Great Great Grandchildren …..
Come on People …. WE ARE THE ONES TO STAND UP, TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORN, And SAVE Our Land!!!!
….Obviously The Persons We Put in The Administration of Our Nation Do Not Respect Us Enough to let us Know Just HOW They have Spent Our Tax Dollars …. AND The Plans for FUTURE Spending!!!
Even the Little Funds that are taken from Our Retirees Monthly Salaries and placed in Our Social Security System for the days when WE are unable to earn as Much as We did in our Youthful Days are THREATENED………..
………. When the Time Comes to “Pay Back” The Debt Accumulated by The Government’s Continuous Borrowing …… Where Do You Think This Money Will Be Coming From…………