By Aabigayle McIntosh

Outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives Sir Gerald Watt K.C. is advocating for further developments within the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda.

In his final speech in the Lower House on Monday he pointed out that no longer should be halls of Parliament be treated like an extension of the government service or more so another government building.

He explained Parliament can no longer function under a ministry or a department.

“Now, don’t blame this Parliament, or this AG, for it. This is what it’s been since I’ve known myself. Right? But maybe the time has come, if I have set the tone, maybe the time has now come for the Parliament to step up and move up. We need to have our committees in place.

“That’s taken too long. Yes, it’s a small Parliament, but there are ways of doing it. There are ways of merging our House with the Senate. Or merging them and creating the necessary committees,” Sir Gerald said.

He added that he was informed of pending legislations to deal with committees of Parliament to take part in some form of things, which he welcomes.

“It has to be done. Parliaments in the Commonwealth, and even parts of the Caribbean, I believe Barbados and Jamaica, they have a lot more autonomy than we do. And one of the things I would like to be able to convince the House about is why it should happen,” Sir Gerald said.

He stated further that the House of Representatives should develop as the government progresses.

“There’s no point having a quarrel. You know what Parliament is supposed to be and therefore you must convince your constituents, of all persuasions, that it is time for your Parliament to be Parliament, whether you are in office or you’re not. You treat it the same, and you nurture it”.

“A Parliament that should not be unfenced behind here. A Parliament which shouldn’t have cattle walking through the yard, and everybody using the Parliament building as a government building,” Sir Gerald continued.