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  • 6 weeks ago
Opposition Chief Whip, Marvin Gonzales, tells the TV6 Morning Edition that since the opening of Parliament after the April elections, the Opposition has faced challenges in carrying out its constitutional role. He was explaining the party's walkout of the House of Representatives on Friday.

Nicole M Romany has the story.
Transcript
00:01Opposition Chief Whip Marvin Gonzalez says,
00:05Democracy is being undermined in the Parliament.
00:08He contends that the opposition holds a minority position
00:12and the government, with its numerical advantage,
00:15continues to treat the PNM with prejudice,
00:18a situation he believes is being permitted by the Speaker of the House.
00:24Gonzalez maintains that while the government will inevitably have its way,
00:29the opposition must still be allowed its say.
00:33He adds that the persistent denial of that right
00:36has left the opposition with no choice but to stage a walkout.
00:41All of that level of obstruction from the government
00:44and from the presiding officer, just 13 of us,
00:47and we indicated that we had enough
00:50and we are going to walk out of the Parliament
00:52so that the people of this country can wake up
00:55so that they can understand what is taking place.
00:58And we are inviting the citizens of this country
01:01to observe the conduct of our democracy in the Parliament,
01:07observe what is taking place,
01:10and we will do whatever we can within the confines of the law,
01:13within the confines of the standing order,
01:15to highlight and to prosecute these matters.
01:18The MP also responded to political analyst Dr. Winford James,
01:24who on Saturday told TV6 that the walkout amounted to political chatter,
01:29saying the PNM is trying to find something to say
01:32and if they can't find an issue with real substance,
01:35they will invent one.
01:37The issues that I've just raised, that should also alarm him
01:40as a very famous commentator on political issues in Trinidad and Tobago.
01:46Those issues should not have required the Chief Whip to come to TV6 to highlight it.
01:52Close observers of our parliamentary democracy should have allowed people like Winford James
01:57and the likes of him to start raising alarm bells as to what is taking place in the Parliament.
02:03The opposition Chief Whip tells the Morning Edition,
02:06as government presents its national budget,
02:09the country is facing another urgent challenge,
02:12a surge in violent crime.
02:14He says Trinidad and Tobago has just emerged
02:18from one of the bloodiest weeks of 2025,
02:21with more than 20 murders reported nationwide.
02:25Gonzalez emphasizes that this is a situation the opposition bench is watching closely.
02:32As a party when the PNM was in government,
02:34we faced similar types of situations
02:36and rightly we were criticised for it.
02:39If Minister Hines was the Minister of National Security,
02:42he would have been hearing calls for his resignation.
02:45And when you look at the conduct and the behaviour of the Minister of Homeland Security,
02:50blowing into plastic bags as though this is theatre,
02:53as though this is a joke,
02:55conducting yourself in a way that does not bring respect to your office,
03:00the people of this country should be very concerned.
03:05The opposition Chief Whip believes the government lacks a concrete plan
03:10to address crime at its root causes.
03:12Instead, he says, it relies on figures like the Minister of Homeland Security,
03:17Roger Alexander, engaging in what the MP calls theatre and distraction.
03:23Nicole M Romany, TV6 News.
03:35Yes.
03:36Since Mr. Penn Attorney...
03:45You were looking at the judge's advocacy.
03:47You were not who you are
03:50waiting to hear from us.
03:51As a matter of fact,
03:52however,
03:53I am not a fan of features that often
03:54take a long line of our poor and our KENNES الي violence...
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