Speaker of the House Manzoor Nadir on Tuesday afternoon paused the presentation of Member Parliament Sherod Duncan, to double down on pandemic-era restrictions and new stipulations he imposed on media access to the dome at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
Duncan criticised the Speaker for restricting the media and stood ten toes down when Nadir pressed him on his comments.
At this point, Nadir stood up to defend his new policy, while the microphone transmitting his comments through Parliament’s live feed appeared to be turned off.
“Mislead or bring a motion, until then, I will ensure that the private media and state media have access. No one is being restricted from covering the proceedings of this house,” Nadir told Duncan.
Nadir yesterday defended his policy of allowing a limited number of accredited media to access the dome, noting that they were in place during the 12th Parliament. He said the Parliament previously allowed access for five persons, but increased this number to seven. The newly imposed policy requires media operatives to lodge their identification cards or drivers licenses with Parliament staff, in exchange for badges that will grant them access to the dome. Notably, accredited media operatives are in possession of media passes, issued through the Guyana Press Association, which are not factored into the Parliament policy.
