Headlines:
| Kern Spencer stays away from opening of Parliament |
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| Thursday, 27 March 2008 | |
Journalists at Thursday morning's ceremonial opening of
Parliament and the afternoon sitting had their eyes peeled, just in case the
Member from North East St. Elizabeth Kern Spencer turned up. In the midst of the controversy over the Cuban light bulb issue, Mr. Spencer had requested a leave of absence from Parliament, which expired at the end of the parliamentary year last Tuesday. Our news centre had received reports that there was a possibility Mr. Spencer would have returned to Parliament Thursday. Despite not being in the house, Mr. Spencer was nonetheless named to the House Committee by House Leader Derrick Smith. The mention of his name drew cat calls from the government side, but this was quickly silenced by Speaker Delroy Chuck. When RJR News contacted House Speaker Delroy Chuck on Wednesday night he said he had not been contacted by Mr. Spencer for an extension. Mr. Spencer, his former executive assistant Coleen Wright and businessman Rodney Chin had their bails extended when they appeared in the Half Way Tree Criminal Court on Wednesday. They were arrested and charged on February 26 in connection with irregularities in the Cuban light bulb project. They are accused of conspiracy to defraud as well as breaching the Money Laundering and Corruption Prevention Acts. Meanwhile, Opposition leader Portia Simpson-Miller told RJR News on Thursday that she is not sure whether Mr. Spencer will be sitting with his colleagues in Parliament during the budget debate. Initially there were reports that Mr. Spencer would have been resigning from Parliament, but apparently buoyed by the support of his constituents, he has so far shown no inclination to do so. Mrs. Simpson-Miller said the issue is one she will be putting on the table at a People's National Party (PNP) meeting on Monday, but said she is not ready to make the party's stance on the matter public. "We have our position but I don't want to comment on it yet. We we hoping that things would have progressed further but the fact is that the lawyers have not yet received statements or anything so you really don't know," said Mrs. Simpson Miller. "You want to take decisions from a position that you have certain information but the party's stance is one of intolerance we will not stand any form of dishonesty," she said. |