Fiery exchange between Samuda, Bunting ends with Opposition walk-out in Parliament
Members of the People’s National Party
(PNP) staged a walk-out at Tuesday’s sitting of the House of representatives in
Kingston after a heated exchanged between Education Minister Karl Samuda and Opposition
Spokesperson Peter Bunting.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in a
Facebook post, highlighted his disappointment that the opposition “opted to be
absent than debate the business of the nation”, however, Bunting took to
Twitter to explain why the PNP felt a walk-out was necessary.
According to Bunting, the Opposition walked
out of the sitting of Parliament in protest against Samuda’s apparent abuse of
power as Minister of Education.
Opposition walked out of Parliament in protest against Parliamentary abuse by Min Karl Samuda who accused me of ill-motives in exposing accusations of gross mismanagement & procurement breaches by Edna Manley Board.— Peter Bunting (@PeterBuntingMP)
Opposition walked out of Parliament in protest against Parliamentary abuse by Min Karl Samuda who accused me of ill-motives in exposing accusations of gross mismanagement & procurement breaches by Edna Manley Board.— Peter Bunting (@PeterBuntingMP) December 3, 2019
“Opposition walked out of Parliament in
protest against Parliamentary abuse by Min Karl Samuda who accused me of
ill-motives in exposing accusations of gross mismanagement & procurement
breaches by Edna Manley Board,” Bunting explained.
Bunting said he was accused by Minister Samuda as a ‘deliverer of suss’ after bringing attention to a letter addressed to Prime Minister Holness from the department heads of Edna Manley – expressing a no-confidence vote in Board Chairman Marigold Harding’s leadership.
“Samuda stated that our motives are
misaligned as his motive is to defend the board,” Bunting further tweeted.
The matter at hand stems from multiple
accusations of sexual misconduct, allegedly by a sitting board director, which
Samuda reportedly will not be looking into as he has “not received any
formal information or evidence…”.
It is understood that the Edna Manley Board
has passed a due diligence test mandated by Minister Samuda, considering the
allegations.
