Hartley Neita

Last Tuesday the inadequacy of the accommodation at Gordon House when Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller presented her Budget speech was exposed. Among thethings I found interesting was the presence of previous parliamentarians which is demonstrative of the culture of continuity in the PNP.

True, some who attended were mobilised and came by special invitation, but many found there was standing room only, or had to return home to watch the proceedings on television.

Gordon House was built nearly 50 years ago as a temporary parliamentary building. It was impressive, its furnishings were tasteful, the Strangers Gallery 'so-so', the Press Gallery sufficient for the number of media organisations at the time, and it was more accommodating than was the previous building, Headquarters House.

It also had facilities absent before - such as sound amplification, air-conditioning, and offices for the Speaker and the President. It also had conference rooms for the Government and the Opposition which are now totally inadequate as the number of Members of Parliament has increased.

When Gordon House was constructed, a design for a new Parliament building was also commissioned. It was to be built at the George VI Memorial Park. The architects also constructed a model of the building, which the late Linwood Graham, an officer of the then Government Public Relations Office (now Jamaica Information Service), and I, carried around the island and exhibited it in various capitals.

The Parliament building was to be the centrepiece of a cluster of government ministries which would have circled the Park. Government, in fact, began purchasing many of the properties on the then East Race Course - now East Heroes Circle.

New ministry buildings

Although this was a Government decision, one by one new ministry buildings were constructed in Hope Gardens, Half-Way Tree, and since then in other areas of the Corporate Area. The new Prime Minister's office which should be a visible institution cannot even be seen by the public from the road.

Gordon House is inconvenient in every respect. When there are sittings of the House, Duke Street is closed, creating traffic jams and antagonisingthe public. The chamber is used for an increased number of committee meetings, and only one committee can sit at any one time.

Suggestions

Various suggestions have been made as to where the site of a new Parliament should be. Today, I have one more.

Jamaica House is no longer the official residence of the Prime Minister. In any case it was never suitable for the continuity of being an official residence for our Prime Ministers as it was designed to suit the first Prime Minister, Sir Alexander Bustamante. He was old and so an elevator was installed. It had a sewing room for Lady Bustamante. It had a large kennel for his many dogs. The guest or children's rooms were small. It also did not have a homely character.

It has now been converted to offices. A new parliamentary building could be built in front and connected to it by a covered walkway. The former Prime Minister's bedroom, now an office, could become the Speaker's office, while the study downstairs could become the President of the Senate's office. A new building for the Ministry of Information adjacent to the Prime Minister's office could be built.

The new Parliament building would be two storeys high, consisting of two wings, one a Chamber for the House of Representatives and the other for Members of the Senate. The wings would be separated by a lawn or garden and joined by a covered walkway.

Both Prime Ministers Manley and Patterson gave undertakings for a new parliament building when they took office. Every time it was proposed the Opposition fumed against it. This should be a priority after the next general election and the cost included in the next annual Budget.

Opposition Leader Bruce Golding would get support from an Opposition PNP and Prime Minister Simpson Miller who knows the difference between national need and political greed will not be afraid of the Opposition's bleatings.

It is time to stop pussyfooting about this important national institution.