Senior Political Reporter
Opposition People’s National Movement Whip Marvin Gonzales has shrugged off Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s sniping at the failure of his motion in Parliament yesterday, and says he’ll refile the motion to debate the country’s water supply disruptions.
“I won’t allow the Government to run and get away as they’ve done,” Gonzales said during a media conference hours after his motion failed yesterday.
“And the Prime Minister is an absentee PM, and couldn’t come to Parliament for all of September…queen of the dumbest Government because she sends her ministers – up to Wednesday this week – to invoke Standing Orders not to answer questions or evade scrutiny.”
He added, “She’s reduced the Parliament to a charade to avoid accountability, especially when they cannot explain serious issues of governance in T&T.”
This, after Persad-Bissessar yesterday poked fun at the failure of Gonzales’ motion in Parliament due to a procedural lapse on his part.
“This has to be the dumbest version of the PNM ever …:” Persad-Bissessar said in a social media post.
Gonzales’ motion failed because he didn’t move the motion by stating “I beg to move” on concluding his arguments.
Opposition PNM Leader Penny Beckles-Robinson also committed a blunder in November 2025 while piloting a motion. She read the text presenting her motion and instead of continuing on to deliver the necessary arguments supporting the motion, she stated, “I beg to move” – a phrase usually signalling completion of a motion.
After Parliament yesterday, Gonzales said what transpired was unfortunate. Claiming the Government used its majority to prevent the Opposition from scrutinising its lack of performance in the water sector, he added, “I think it’s another example of how our Parliament is being managed … another example of the fact the Government isn’t prepared to engage in serious discourse on issues concerning citizens’ lives.
“Why would the Government not take the opportunity to respond after I provided evidence that because of their lack of financing in major water sector projects, our constituencies are now facing the brunt of lack of water?”
He added, “But no invocation of Standing Orders would silence me or the Opposition. If the Government isn’t prepared to debate in Parliament and want to hide behind Standing Orders, there are other platforms and opportunities for those matters to be prosecuted – I plan on doing so.”
Claiming the Standing Orders are being utilised “in a way to suppress discussion on important matters” and there was a deliberate attempt to silence the Opposition, he added, “I warn Government: you cannot hide behind the Speaker’s chair or Standing Orders.”
Gonzales said the Opposition didn’t object when the Homeland Security Minister didn’t satisfy procedures in recent motions on acting appointments in the T&T Police Service.
Saying he wasn’t criticising the House Speaker, Gonzales added, “But today, he doesn’t have a discretion … I don’t see that.
“Government, in utilising a technicality, having listened to my contribution and not being able to respond to my evidence, what they’ve done collectively, including the Public Utilities Minister, is run. If they were prepared to debate this very important matter, they would have stood right there … a bunch of cowards!
“If you feel you get away by running away from an important debate in Parliament – look out! I’ll continue to prosecute these very important issues.”
Opposition MP Keith Scotland meanwhile said the phrase “I beg to move” was already used by Gonzales at the start of his motion. He said the Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister (delivering a statement) also went beyond his original 10 minutes allotted by the same Standing Order and the Speaker gave him 20 seconds to wrap up.
“Didn’t he have the discretion to give (Gonzales) 20 seconds to say, ‘I beg to move’ that takes five seconds,” Scotland asked.
