Speaker vows to take no nonsense

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Gladys Kokorwe has warned Members of Parliament that she would be a no nonsense leader in the current Winter Parliament session.

Kokorwe told the MPs on Monday this week when Parliament resumed that she would not tolerate any uncalled for behaviour by any MP. She stated that the last Parliament session was charactersited by behaviour that was not as honourable as it should be the case. The previous session was mostly characterised by chaos where MPs attacked each other verbally.

The situation would get to a point where security officers carried some MPs especially from the opposition, out of Parliament after they defied the speaker’s order to leave the chamber. Various general assembly meetings aimed at addressing the situation did not bear any fruit as the situation continued until the last day when Parliament went on recess.

“I will not allow what happened during the last session to occur. We all know that the standing orders do not allow the behaviour that we experienced. The standing orders are clear that all members should conduct themselves with appropriate decorum. I want all of us to give each other a chance to speak and not do what we saw happening during the previous session. I am going to consistently take action in accordance with standing orders against any member who gets out of way,” she warned.

The speaker also expressed concern that some MPs abuse the use of ‘Point of Order.’ She said the MPs use it when they are not satisfied with answers given by ministers; something Kokorwe said is against the procedures of Parliament. Kokorwe stated that in her 15 years as an MP, she has never experienced such behaviour displayed by MPs in the current Parliament.