PHILIPSBURG--President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell came under fire for her recent trip to Washington DC without prior approval of Parliament to attend a reception in honour of Women's History Month hosted by United States Vice President Joe Biden in March.
The post-approval of the trip was on the agenda of Thursday's Central Committee. The National Alliance (NA) fraction and independent Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson were not in agreement with the trip coming up for approval after it was already made.
Arrindell's United People's (UP) party was in favour of the post-approval of the trip. With fellow coalition members Democratic Party and independent MP Patrick Illidge absent from the meeting, that left only UP in favour of the trip.
Arrindell said she would not go into whether she covered the trip personally or not and would abide by the decision of the Central Committee. Arrindell reportedly personally paid for the trip and did not use any Parliament funds.
MP William Marlin (NA), stating his disapproval of what he sees as Arrindell's constant ignoring of the rules, pointed out that trips of MPs are regulated by law and that the law must be followed. This stance was also shared by MPs George Pantophlet and Richardson.
Richardson said the way Parliament is operated by Arrindell is "wrong" and that this has been brought to her attention before, especially where it pertains to trips without prior approval. "This would not have happened if she had listened ... Some of us feel we are above each other due to education, but we must do things the right way." He said it was one of the tasks of the General Secretary Jozef Semeleer, based on his years of experience, to help guide Arrindell. He urged members to not travel without prior approval.
Marlin again raised the issue of receiving a list of her past trips and travel expenses. The list was provided by Finance Minister Hiro Shigemoto during the 2012 budget debate in March, but it was not passed on to MPs because Arrindell wanted to first have it reviewed by the Presidium of Parliament.
Marlin also does not agree with the contents of a letter he received about the requested list. The letter stated that the Presidium had looked at the list and it had "a few discrepancies" as it still contained cancelled trips and this was to be rectified. He called the move to rectify the list "damage control" and an attempt to "manipulate that info" because his stance is the list should be submitted to parliament as is because public funds were used. He is also concerned about whether or not travel allowances were returned for cancelled trips and fees levied for cancelled tickets.
Marlin said Arrindell "behaves like she is not a member of parliament and by being chair she is above the law."
On the Washington DC trip, Marlin said MPs only received a copy of an invitation, but not travel details. As for taking the trip and then seeking approval, he said the rules must be followed, adding that the issue of travelling without approval had been raised in the past with Arrindell. He said with friends in Washington a number of invitations can be arranged for. He also queried why Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams was not invited.
For urgent trips, Arrindell can call the fraction leaders to seek permission to go and then have the majority decision approved upon returning. No such procedure was followed in the case of the Washington DC trip.
Marlin said NA is looking into calling a meeting about the functioning of Parliament in the near future.
MP Johan Leonard (UP) said it was time to go back to the rules of order to see how such situations can be avoided.
MP Silvia Meyers-Olivacce (UP) said it was not right to degrade fellow MPs in a Central Committee meeting because of their background. "We need to grow up and work together."
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