PHILIPSBURG--United Democrats (UD) Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams said it is “a new phenomenon” that individual Members of Parliament (MPs) were nominating incoming ministers.
She said in a press statement that during the very first meeting chaired by National Alliance (NA) MP William Marlin on Wednesday, September 25, a motion was “allowed” to be tabled and passed which she said had nothing to do with the agenda points on education.
“The rhetoric against the former chair, started by some MPs who now form the majority, regarding the Rules of Order of Parliament, is swiftly coming back to haunt them,” Wescot-Williams said.
She alluded to Article 45, Rules of Order, which states that a member who has the floor may submit motions concerning the subject being deliberated. Such a motion must be formulated concisely and clearly, etc.
“You have to have a very, very good imagination to make a connection between the agenda points of Wednesday’s meeting and the motion which was passed. I hope that the coalition MPs will exhibit the same vigour and zest for the rules under the chairmanship of MP Marlin,” she said.
She said the caretaker cabinet had received a motion of no confidence because it had invoked article 59 regarding elections.
“We should recall that the William Marlin cabinet made his cabinet’s resignation part of the deal to invoke article 59 under much more dire circumstances, the aftermath of Hurricane Irma,” she said.
“Now, from the September 25th motion, two ministers, the Prime Minister and the Justice Minster, should “be removed from office. By whom? When the very same ministers have to pass their own dismissal decree. Furthermore, the hands of the caretaker ministers who remain are tied for suspiciously convenient issues, government-owned companies, appointments, contracts, personnel, etc.
“What can these ministers actually do, if the motion was [to be – Ed.] executed?
“If the two ministers were to resign (and mind you, they have to make their own dismissal decree) and we go according to substitution, this is what the government will look like: Minister Wycliffe Smith acting for PM; Smith acting for Justice; Smith acting for Education; Minister Chris Wever acting for Public Health; Chris Wever acting for VROMI [Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure]; Stuart Johnson acting for TEATT [Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication]; and Perry Geerlings acting for Finance.
“You could say, we would still have four ministers, a majority of the seven, but are we serious? They are all caretaker ministers, because the Prime Minister tendered her cabinet’s resignation already. At the end of the day, motion or no motion, the ministers have to uphold their oath of office and leave their office in a responsible way and time. And there is nothing anyone can do about their decision.”
Wescot-Williams said she is disappointed that this political saga is playing out the way it is, because “I really would have liked to see what exactly this new coalition wants its ministers to do. Remember the Mercelina motion against Emil Lee? Who will be the new ministers and is it indeed so that practically every individual MP of the new coalition will nominate his/her minister?”
