New Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Ms. Shirley Osborne
Ms. Shirley Osborne has taken her oath of office and is now officially the Speaker of the Montserrat Legislative Assembly, replacing Sir Howard Fergus who sat as Speaker since the People’s Democratic Party (PDM) swept into power on September 11, 2014. Ms. Osborne took her oath at the first 2015 sitting of the Assembly at the Montserrat Cultural Center in Little Bay on Friday, January 23, 2015.
The speaker’s chair was previously occupied by Sir Howard Fergus, who retired in 2001, served again in 2009, and this last time from September, 2014.
Premier Donaldson Romeo thanked Sir Howard for his years of committed service to the parliament of Montserrat and by extension the people of Montserrat.
The unannounced new Deputy Speaker, who was not elected at the first sitting of the Assembly as constitutionally required, is the Hon. Dr. Ingrid Buffonge. She took the Speaker’s chair and put the nomination for the election of new Speaker Osborne to the house following the motion by Premier Romeo and seconded by Opposition Leader the Hon. Reuben T. Meade.
In her first statement as Speaker, Ms. Osborne said, “the very first thing I do whenever I am entering a relationship, I ensure all parties involved are aware of some things and all the fundamentals. I strive for agreement and by agreement I mean I tell people how my contribution to the relationship is going to play out…”
“The game here is politics,” she continued. “We all are aware of that but this is the house of the Assembly; this is our Parliament so therefore the business at hand is governance.”
Hon. Osborne presided over her first day’s sitting which saw heated debate back and forth and questions between the government and opposition.
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