The Speaker granted Leave of Absence from today’s sitting to the Members for Arima, St. Augustine and Fyzabad.

The Speaker then brought to the attention of the House the death of Mr. Dhanraj Singh, former Member for Pointe-a-Pierre at the age of 49. Tribute was paid to Mr. Singh by the Speaker of the House, the Leader of the House and the Member for Tabaquite. The House then stood to observe a minute’s silence. The Speaker directed the Clerk of the House to send an appropriate letter of condolence to the family of Mr. Singh.

The Speaker ruled on matters of privilege raised by the Member for Diego Martin West on November 14, 2008, on statements made by the Prime Minister during his contribution to the Appropriation Bill, 2009 on September 30, 2008. He ruled that he was not satisfied that a prima facie case had been made out. View the Speaker’s ruling.

The Member for Siparia sought leave of the House for a petition by the Residents of Seebalack Trace, Penal about the condition of the road following work done on a project by the National Commission for Self Help. Leave was granted and the petition was read by the Clerk.

Six Papers were laid, five by the Minister of Finance which were referred to the Public Accounts (Enterprises) Committee and the sixth by the Leader of the House on behalf of the Deputy Speaker. See the Order Paper for details.

Ten Questions qualify for Oral Answer. Two Questions were answered and the rest deferred. See the Order Paper for details.

Three Questions qualify for written answer. The response to one Question (163) was circulated. See the Order Paper for details.

Three matters were raised by the Members for Caroni Central (Scary Conditions under which citizens reside as a result of crime), Caroni East (Widespread Reports of the use of high tech monitoring equipment) and Siparia (need for a revised budget proposal for fiscal 2009). In each case the Speaker ruled that the matters did not qualify under this Standing Order. In the case of the matter raised by the Member for Caroni Central, the Speaker suggested that debate on the Government motion on crime be resumed.

Debate continued (from October 24, 2008) on the Children Bill, 2008, with the Member for Tabaquite being first to contribute, followed by the Member for Lopinot/Bon Air West, during whose contribution the Minister of Works was permitted to make a statement.

The Minister of Works and Transport and Leader of the House made a statement in the House to clarify issues raised in an article in the Express Newspaper concerning an official vehicle used to transport the Prime Minister.

The Minister of Information then resumed his contribution on the Children Bill, and was followed by the Member for Oropouche West. In all some six members made contributions on the Bill during this sitting (nine overall) before the Minister began his wind-up. The Bill was referred to a Special Select Committee of the House of Representatives consisting of six members, to consider the general merits of the Bill as well as its details and report within twelve days of December 1, 2008.

The Member for Oropouche East raised the matter of the failure of the government to fully implement the Equal Opportunity Act and the Equal Opportunity Tribunal. The Attorney General responded.

At its next sitting the House will introduce and debate an Elections and Boundaries (Local Government)(Amendment and Validation) Bill, which will allow for Tobago House of Assembly Elections. The House adjourned at 7:35 p.m.