‘People have a right to hear’ HoA Committee Stage discussions - E. Benito Wheatley
More transparency in government is the call of Special Envoy to the Premier Mr E. Benito Wheatley, who said, moving forward, the Government of Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) has to push more transparency.
“Transparency is something that can always be improved and we needed much more of it. So going forward, the new government has to push transparency, which can come in many forms,” he said in an interview with 284 Media and posted on YouTube on May 4, 2023.
The Premier’s Advisor on International Relations, with a particular focus on the United Kingdom (UK), European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN), added that more transparency could come via the Freedom of Information Act and the government can also release information to the public in different forms.
Committee Stage of HoA should be public- Mr Wheatley
“The House Assembly is live and it has this regular sittings and sessions, but the committee stage of Bills is private. I see no reason why it should not be public; I think people have a right to hear the discussions and debate on bills,” Mr Wheatley said.
“It shouldn't simply be something discussed in the backroom off-camera. People have a right to see the rationale behind these things and to understand,” he added.
Mr Wheatley, the brother of Premier Wheatley, detailed that such moves will give the public more confidence and more understanding of what is happening in government.
Mr E. Benito Wheatley has said he sees no reason why the Committee Stage of the House of Assembly should not be made public. Reconciliation
Meanwhile, he also encouraged members of the Government to reconcile with other election candidates who ran in the 2023 elections.
“To the new government I would say, encourage reconciliation. It was a bruising election campaign and I think to move forward, we have to try to reconcile with each other, between political parties, between different camps.”
Mr Wheatley said the 2023 election season must therefore be behind them and persons should not hold on to grievances, given the people have spoken and the results respected.
“The government is now formed we should get past any misgivings about the government and how it was formed. They are there, there is competence and so to the public, I say encourage the government, support them, but keep them accountable,” he said while adding, the government must govern and the people must hold them accountable in a positive way.
