Premier’s Parliament Attendance Record: 81.5%
The row over the attendance record of the Premier continues this evening, with The Sergeant of Arms of the House of Assembly today [July 7] confirming that for the 2009/2010 Parliamentary session the Premier attended 22 of the 27 House meetings held thus far [81.5%].
The attendance debate has come to the limelight over the Premier’s travel to the FIFA World Cup this week. He, along with his wife Wanda Henton Brown, traveled to South Africa at their own expense.
Earler today, UBP Leader Kim.Swan had hit out the Premier’s attendance saying “We’re not surprised the Premier has flown off to South Africa to enjoy the World Cup final games. This is part of a travel habit that has seen him spend more time off the Island than any of his predecessors, by a country mile. The trips abroad have increased as he approaches the end of what he describes as his ‘term of office’, and it has become, in effect, his global farewell tour.”
Premier Brown released a statement later today saying, “My administration has introduced a record number of bills in the House. That is what is important. The Bermudian people are more concerned with results than they are with personal attendance statistics. The fact that the Opposition leader has a near-perfect attendance is clear evidence that it takes more than just being there.”
The most recent statement this evening “condemned” the Opposition Leader “for failing to have his facts straight when he attacked the Parliamentary attendance record of Premier Ewart F. Brown.” The Premier’s Press Secretary Jamahl Simmons said, “While we are focused on reducing gun violence, preserving the quality of life for Bermudians and improving our education system, the UBP is wasting the people’s time with this foolishness. Mr. Swan seems to be as effective in keeping his facts together as he is in keeping his increasingly irrelevant party together.”
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- Truancy | July 8, 2010
“The fact that the Opposition leader has a near-perfect attendance is clear evidence that it takes more than just being there”
Comments like this only lend credence to the well-deserved moniker “Provocateur-in-Chief” for our outgoing Lame Duck Premier.
It is the Government (PLP) that is responsible for the running of the country. The Opposition is there to attempt to keep them on the straight and narrow and I think Kim Swan is doing that, which is why the Government responds in this childish manner. I for one am glad to see that at least someone is taking his responsibilities seriously enough to be on the job when he is supposed to be.