Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
PEART
DESPITE his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Michael Peart is considered a low-key figure in local politics. Recently, however, some controversial gestures have resulted in him locking horns with Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) members and journalists.
Two weeks ago, Mr. Peart, 58, barred media from sitting in the Hansard section of the House. This followed publication of a photograph in The Observer of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller sketching, during a no-confidence motion by the Opposition against the Government.
Desmond Richards, president of the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ), has written to Mr. Peart on the media ban. Mr. Peart, who said the restriction was first put in place two years ago following an altercation between Mrs. Simpson Miller and East Central St. Catherine MP, K.D. Knight, is scheduled to meet with journalists today.
Last week, Mr. Peart and JLP leader Bruce Golding, squared off as the Government argued its censure motion against North Central St. Andrew MP, Karl Samuda. Government members claim Mr. Samuda misled the House when he said Port Authority of Jamaica chairman Noel Hylton had submitted a report to Cabinet on the controversial Sandals Whitehouse Hotel project.
Cabinet members have denied this.
Mr. Golding said Parliament's Privileges Committee had no authority to penalise Mr. Samuda, since he was already censured on October 3. Initially, Mr. Peart challenged Mr. Golding's argument that the matter be referred to the House of Representatives for clarification.
He eventually agreed with Mr. Golding after the Opposition leader quoted a section from Parliamentary Practice - an authoritative tome on parliamentary procedure written by Erskine May - that upheld his argument.
Derrick Smith, Leader of Opposition Business in the House, who spoke highly of Mr. Peart when he replaced Violet Neilson as Speaker four years ago, told The Gleaner yesterday that he retains personal respect for Mr. Peart, but questions some of his recent rulings.
Cracking under pressure
"I would say, since he's been in the chair, Speaker Peart has tried to maintain a balance, but in recent times he seems to be cracking under the pressure his party is feeling inside and outside the House," said Mr. Smith.
It has been an eventful year for Mr. Peart, a father of five who is also the People's National Party's (PNP) MP for South Manchester.
Last October, he and Opposition members clashed following his refusal to debate the 'invasion' of West Kingston by security forces who said they were looking for gunmen who allegedly murdered three policemen early in the year.
The JLP claimed that when security forces aimed guns at a group of persons including Mr. Golding, the West Kingston MP, it endangered their lives.
In the aftermath of the PNP's presidential elections when several incumbents were defeated in internal polls, Mr. Peart stood firm. In June, he beat his former assistant, Wensworth Skeffery, to remain the PNP's candidate for South Manchester.
London-born, Mr. Peart's bloodline has traces of true grit. He is the son of Ernest Peart, former PNP MP for West Manchester and Jamaica's High Commissioner to Britain.
Peart senior served in the Royal Air Force in World War II. His wife, a Briton, gave birth to Michael while he was living there, but he returned to Jamaica in the early 1950s to pursue a career in politics.
Michael Peart and his younger brother Dean, followed their father into politics. An electrical engineer by profession, the older sibling won the South Manchester seat in 1993 and has been successful in two other general elections.
Dean, the current Minister of Local Government and Community Development, is MP for North West Manchester.
There seems no let-up for Michael Peart. If knocking heads with the JLP and the media is not enough, he may have to stave off a challenge by Norman Horne for head of the PNP's Region Five.
