Independents Rebel, Senate Meeting Scrapped

Tuesday’s virtual Senate session, expected to be uneventful, has now stirred unexpected controversy. Independent senators, fed up with another online session, announced they would log in from inside the National Assembly Chamber itself, arguing that unless there’s a true emergency, the Senate should be meeting in the newly renovated, multimillion‑dollar building, not on a computer screen. But just as they prepared to make their point, the meeting was abruptly cancelled. And according to Church Senator Louis Wade, the decision blindsided the independents, leaving them questioning whether the cancellation was logistical, or strategic.

 

Louis Wade, Church Senator

“For me personally I live in Belmopan, just a stone’s throw away from the newly renovated five-million-dollar National Assembly, which really is where special meetings are regular meetings are to be held for the Senate. Virtual meetings, we have done one and I believe it was done so that we could test the system, knows that it works, ensure that in cases of emergencies, national emergencies, weather emergencies, etc., that the Senate could still do its work. But that is not the purpose, I believe, for virtual. So, if we are going to have ordinary meeting where we are going to discuss the people’s business then it must be done in the optimum lighting, sound, space that was designated for that. So, that is my personal opinion. The three other independent Senators when I checked with them they said they would have been in Belmopan. Well, let us make a request to the clerk of the National Assembly, because that is the protocol, that we could still use the Chamber. So we would have still done our virtual from the Chamber and we got an approval. So, for us it was ok, let us meet together there. So the cancelation, I don’t know what happened in the background, but it came as a surprise.”

 

The standoff has now added fresh fuel to an ongoing debate about transparency, accountability, and whether virtual sittings should still be the norm when Senate business can safely return to the Chamber.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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