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War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

War of WordsAntigua St. John's - Comments by St Mary’s North MP Molwyn Joseph, over the handling of the arrangements for the inaugural OECS Assembly session in St John’s last Friday, seem to have touched a sensitive nerve with Speaker of the House of Representatives D. Gisele Isaac.

On his radio programme Fire and Steel on Monday August 13, the MP described the arrangements for the session as ‘sloppy’.

He highlighted a number of examples to support his claim - pointing out, for example, that holding the session at the parliament building in St John’s did not have the force of law as there was no act of parliament to give it effect.

But the Speaker, who said she was part of a committee set up to plan the arrangements for the Assembly, was clearly not amused by Joseph’s remarks -accusing him of ‘Monday morning quarterbacking’ during a radio interview.

“I wish that all those persons who knew what should have been done, would have come forward before the Assembly and offered their suggestions, their recommendations, their courtesies rather than taking part, endorsing it and now everybody jumps up and Rah! Rah! … when the Prime Minister had announced that the inaugural session would be held in Antigua,” Isaac fired back.

She said nobody had approached her as a member of the committee to say that he/she had heard of the committee planning the event and offered any advice or suggestions.

“I sat on a committee to plan the event and nobody … approached me to say ‘I hear you’re planning the Assembly and I think you should do this or do that or I recommend this or I recommend that’. But now that the thing has come off - mind you: fully endorsed by both government and the opposition, all of a sudden I am hearing, ‘it should have been this, it should have been that’, where were these people and their recommendations before?!” she declared.



But not to be outdone, Joseph retorted that he was not even aware, as a Member of Parliament, that a committee had been set up to plan the arrangements for the auspicious gathering.

“In truth and in fact, if there was a committee formed to plan this, and the committee was the responsibility of the parliament of Antigua & Barbuda, why then, did the speaker not invite a member of the opposition to serve on the committee?” he asked.

Joseph rejected Isaac’s suggestion that anyone with an idea should have approached the committee, noting that very few people even knew of the existence of a committee or whether or not it was accepting ideas and or suggestions.

“If you have a responsibility to do something, it’s up to you try to secure the necessary support, experience and expertise to come and join. I wasn’t even aware of its existence as a parliamentarian,” he noted.

Joseph said Isaac’s reaction displayed immaturity and he likened it to a case of someone being ‘thin skin’ quoting a line from one of the popular calypsos this year.

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20 Comments In This Article   

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Molwyn Trying to Grab Headlines Again

#20 Reader » 2012-08-19 00:36

I only have three questions to ask on this article and to show that MP Joseph is just simply trying to grab headlines.

1. Did not MP Molwyn Joseph and MP Gaston Brown attend a Meeting of the OECS Economic Union in St. Lucia in May of this year during which discussions were held on the OECS Assembly to be held in Antigua? For clarity see Caribarena article of May 5, 2012 headlined "Opposition Members attend OECS Economic Meeting. Here is the link for easy access: http://www.caribarena.com/antigua/news/economy/100441-opposition-members-attend-oecs-economic-meeting.html

2. Did not the parliament of Antigua and Barbuda, of which MP Joseph is a sitting member ratify the Revised Treaty of Basseterre establishing the OECS Economic Union? The answer is Yes.

3. And three, Is not the OECS Assembly one of the new organs of this Revised Treaty? Answer: Yes Again.

Rest my case - MP Joseph - Stay out the news.
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Reader

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#19 Auddie » 2012-08-18 20:53

Most governments have a department of protocol, where persons are specially trained to ensure there are no embarrasing ommisions in diplomatic rekationships. This is not he first time that the clueless UPP have messed up in this area. If ALP were apes then UPP are neandertalls
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Auddie

dont believe the hype my people

#18 rupert j. » 2012-08-18 14:57

An organization like the OECS meeting in Antigua and the members of parliament have no idea that a committe was in place to organise the event, just who was he trying to convince. I dear say that even if it was broadcast over the air waves and personal invitations sent they would not have responded that is just the mature of the beast we serve. Both LB and GB leader and deputy were part of this gathering.
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rupert j.

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#17 UNITED STATES » 2012-08-17 16:48

Molwyn,you are picking at straws.Is this the most important thing in Antigua to talk about.I do not know this lady,Isaac.She is one tough person.She is also very smart.I have listened to her debate and she is for real,not a phony.Perhaps,j ust perhaps you should have consulted Frankie Southwell.She is the only person that I have heard shut him up.Since that night I have had the utmost respect for her,even from 3,000 miles away.Her response to you is on par.A man of many words,no substance.Those are my words.The pants you are wearing really made me laugh.My grandfather/fat her wore those pants,62 years ago.What with those red caps anyway that all of you are wearing.What would happen if you wore a black cap.The color of the cap does mean anything.It is what comes from the inside that really matters.
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UNITED STATES

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#16 Truth » 2012-08-17 15:48

@ Tenman. Could you tell me which law was broken ? Any building can be designated a meeting place for a Parliament. Maybe MP Joseph is right but where are the supporting facts. By the way, it was Foreign Affairs and the Parlimentary Secretariat that made the arrangements no political involvement was necessary here.
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Truth

onlooker

#15 War of Words Between » 2012-08-17 12:07

Molwyn is one to talk about sloppy!!! it is hard to believe that he an MP did not know, a big even like the inaugural OECS Assembly, one would believe that they would be some kind of an committee to plan the event. dont think we forget about the jennings community library that suppose to be an GOVERNMENT LIBRARY that xxx xxxx from the children of jennings to xxxxxx your xxx sxxxxx xxxx just because you lost that yea and that's just the tip of the iceberg. so you talking about sloppy just makes me laugh...
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War of Words Between

War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#14 James » 2012-08-17 11:18

Forget the "war of words" for a minute. Did the members of the parliament not know beforehand that this assembly was going to take place on the Parliament building? I know for that for weeks I have been reading that this sitting was taking place. So why now would there be a question after the fact, about the legality of the use of the building. Parliament met twice before this assembly met, why wasn't that question raised at the time?

I do agree that if there was a planning committee and the opposition was not informed then that is not right, but again, they all knew the assembly was happening, why not ask for a status report on the event, prior to it being held.

I have come to the conclusion that no matter what happens in Antigua, especially for the good of the country there is always a "bad apple" to spoil it. Look at this, we had all these people from the OECS on our soil. Thats speaks volumes. Why didn't they use another parliament building in one of the other islands, I know why because Antigua's parliament building is the best equipped in the region.
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James

Makes sense

#13 Common Cents » 2012-08-17 09:31

MP Joseph actually makes sense. I hope that the next time a major function is being planned, that the committee will make an effort to be inclusive and involve BOTH sides of the political spectrum. That way, everybody has an opportunity to give their input
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Common Cents

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#12 Truth » 2012-08-17 09:28

Why is Molwyn wearing his pants under his neck ? :D :D :D
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Truth

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#11 Ian Best » 2012-08-17 09:27

This article is about Giselle and Molwyn yet some ALP yard foul had to introduce Gaston to the debate. I am now convinced that you guys are afraid of Gaston. They say that all publicity is good publicity so Gaston should enjoy the free press given to him by those ALP baboons.
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Ian Best

Anonymous -checks and balances

#10 tenman » 2012-08-17 08:49

Anonymous Joseph is simply doing the job he is paid to do. If only others would follow suit, the country would be in a better state. Anonymous do you prefer driving your vehicle without a fuel gauge and enjoy when persons make turns without first indicating?

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tenman

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#9 Roadwarrior » 2012-08-17 08:40

This guy Molwyn is God - He knows everything - He has the solutions for everything - He is the fountain of all knowledge - He is the all in all. He had to find fault with something.
Why is it that something, an act or so, was needed for the use of the building to host the inaugural assembly? Is it not a case that the youth have used it before without any law/act being passed? I need some enlightenment here!!!
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Roadwarrior

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#8 budman » 2012-08-17 08:23

Molwyn call somebody else on this planet "thin skinned"??? wow!!
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budman

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#7 Anonymous » 2012-08-17 08:01

Molwyn too danm nuff, all of a sudden he is an authority on everything.
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Anonymous

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#6 tenman » 2012-08-17 07:57

I listened to Joseph the night and he made sense. If we are doing something, lets try to do it properly. Laws and regulations should not be ignored due to sloppiness. The government could have simply via the same parliament, declared its (parliament building) use in law dual purpose. The step is still necessary since there will be other OECS meetings at the same location. I have no doubt, that even after the problem has been highlighted, parliament will drag its foot in fixing it

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tenman

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#5 Fedup with Gaston » 2012-08-17 06:13

Mr. Joseph, I am sure she told GB when she goes by too spend time with his baby by the baby since she is godmother. So ask GB if he knew.
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Fedup with Gaston

Give us a break Giselle

#4 STEVE » 2012-08-17 05:16

If I really type what I think about D. Giselle Isaac-Arrinell, I am sure that it won't be posted so I will just draw her attention to the question that was asked. IS IT LEGAL FOR OUR PARLIAMENT TO HAVE BEEN USED THE WAY IT WAS? Simple simple question. Seems as if she wants to be congratulated for something. WELL, CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ON MOVING INTO YOUR NEW HOUSE AND ALL THAT GOES ALONG WITH THAT..........
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STEVE

ALWAYS IN THE BACK DOOR

#3 RASTA T » 2012-08-17 03:46

EVERY THING THIS GOVERNMENT DO IS ALWAYS BACK WARDS BACKWARDS BACK WARDS WHY
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RASTA T

ALWAYS IN THE BACK DOOR

#2 RASTA T » 2012-08-17 03:45

MOLYN I BACK YOU IN SOME POINT ON THIS ONE THIS GOVERNMENT WANT TO RUN THIS COUNTRY AS IF THEIR IS A ONE PARTY GOV ERNMENT THE ALL LEAVE THE OPPOSITION OUT OF EVERY THING ONCE A COMMITEE WAS SET UP FOR THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE OECS MEETING THEIR SHOULD BE ONE OR TWO MEMBERS FROM THE OPPOSITION SIDE TO HEAR THEIR VIEWS TOO THEN CORRECTION WOULD BE MADE ON CERTAIN THINGS THE UPP GOV WELL KNOW THAT THEY ARE FOOLS TO CERTAIN LAWS GOVERN ANTIGUA THEY MAKE THEIR OWN RULES TO SUIT THEMSELVES ON ANYTHING THEY WANT TO DO WHAT A WAY TO GO ISAACAND THE GG U ALL SHOULD KNOW BETTER AS THE SPEAKER OF THE SAID HOUSE IF YOU DONT KNOW THE RULES OF THE HOUSE U ALL NEED TO PACK UR BAGS AND GO
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RASTA T

RE: War of Words Between Molwyn And Speaker

#1 GoodJobBob » 2012-08-17 03:30

Molwyn:

Dude, who's your tailor?
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GoodJobBob

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