It was her first contribution in the Senate yesterday but temporary government senator Cindy Gibbs-Mohammed sparked a battle between the Leaders of Government and Opposition Business in the Senate on Tuesday. Mohammed was appointed to contribute to the debate on the Gambling (Gaming and Betting) Control Bill, 2015, which was presented earlier by Finance and the Economy Minister Larry Howai.
Gibbs-Mohammed is an executive member of the Union of Members Clubs and Lottery Workers Association. She said her role in the Senate was to represent the workers of that industry. She recalled the failure of the former Patrick Manning Government to regulate the industry, saying thousands of workers were unable to secure loans from banks as their industry was not regulated.
She was high in praise for then Leader of the Opposition Kamla Persad-Bissessar for supporting the workers. She said she was happy that the measure was before the Parliament under the PP Government, led by Persad-Bissessar. She said under the former PNM Government “dictatorship at that time was definitely in the making.”
Leader of Opposition Business Senator Camille Robinson-Regis then unsuccessfully rose on Standing Order 35 (1) on the issue of relevance. After making several complimentary remarks about the PP Government, Gibbs-Mohammed said, “This is not a paid political advertisement.”
Gibbs-Mohammed also spoke highly of former state prosecutor Dana Seetahal , who was killed after leaving a private members club in Woodbrook more than a year ago. Gibbs-Mohammed said the bill was a tribute to Seetahal, who played a significant role in drafting it. She said Seetahal “was such an advocate of responsible and regulated gambling.”
But Robinson-Regis, who spoke after Gibbs-Mohammed, described her as a lobbyist. Robinson-Regis said Gibbs-Mohammed’s presentation in the Senate “was another example by this Government of using the Parliament in a way that does not augur well for the good governance of T&T.” Robinson-Regis said the senator was only representing her interests. “What we saw today was a violation of the spirit of the Parliament,” she insisted.
She said Gibbs-Mohammed should have instead been invited to a meeting of a parliamentary committee on the said legislation. Robinson-Regis said, “We are sailing close to the wind as it relates to bringing all our institutions down to the lowest level. “ She said, “We cannot as a Senate sit here and allow such a contribution to go unnoticed.”
Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Ganga Singh, in his contribution said it was the role of the PP Government to give the people a voice in the administration of the country. He said he wanted to know “who is not a lobbyist gathered here? When members speak they represent special interest because they come from a background of special interest.” He said such people could speak in the Senate because of their knowledge.
“She came with peculiar knowledge of the gaming sector in this country,” Singh added, in defence of the temporary senator. Gibbs has worked in the industry for over 19 years. Singh dismissed Robinson-Regis’ claim that Gibbs-Mohammed’s presentation was in violation of the spirit of Parliament.