Lands Minister Hamat Bah started a heated argument at the National Assembly Wednesday when he called opposition members "big mouths" who criticized the government for starting Operation Clear The Roads. Bah made these comments after Serekunda lawmaker Musa Cham claimed area councils hurt the operation by collecting fees that let vendors stay on the streets. Bah fired back that when the government began clearing roads, opposition "big mouths" attacked them, saying they destroyed people's ways to make money.
Several lawmakers jumped in right away, including Latrikunda's Yaya Sanyang, Central Baddibu's Sulayman Saho, and Janjangbureh's Omar Jammeh. "The minister calls us big mouths. You need to make him stop, withdraw what he said, and say sorry," Sanyang demanded. When Deputy Speaker Seedy Njie asked Bah to explain himself, the minister claimed he meant opposition outside parliament who criticized road clearing. This answer made the protesting lawmakers even angrier.
Deputy Speaker Njie warned the minister against using "unparliamentary language," but neither asked him to apologize nor retract his words. Jammeh, Saho, and Kiang West representative Lamin Ceesay cited official rules to challenge the speaker's decision and demanded action against the minister. "The minister acted wrong by calling the opposition big mouths. That shows bad manners when talking about us," Saho argued strongly.
The deputy speaker responded by saying the minister explained he didn't mean parliament members. "We need order to move forward. We won't let ministers insult members. We also won't let members insult ministers. Both sides must behave properly and use respectful language." Sanyang remained unhappy and pushed back hard. "What kind of ruling did you just make? The minister talked about opposition, and some of us here belong to opposition parties. He should say sorry and take back his words. My parents support opposition parties! Is he talking about my parents? Minister, you are a big mouth!" Deputy Speaker Njie then declared, "The match ends in a tie. One-one."
Several lawmakers jumped in right away, including Latrikunda's Yaya Sanyang, Central Baddibu's Sulayman Saho, and Janjangbureh's Omar Jammeh. "The minister calls us big mouths. You need to make him stop, withdraw what he said, and say sorry," Sanyang demanded. When Deputy Speaker Seedy Njie asked Bah to explain himself, the minister claimed he meant opposition outside parliament who criticized road clearing. This answer made the protesting lawmakers even angrier.
Deputy Speaker Njie warned the minister against using "unparliamentary language," but neither asked him to apologize nor retract his words. Jammeh, Saho, and Kiang West representative Lamin Ceesay cited official rules to challenge the speaker's decision and demanded action against the minister. "The minister acted wrong by calling the opposition big mouths. That shows bad manners when talking about us," Saho argued strongly.
The deputy speaker responded by saying the minister explained he didn't mean parliament members. "We need order to move forward. We won't let ministers insult members. We also won't let members insult ministers. Both sides must behave properly and use respectful language." Sanyang remained unhappy and pushed back hard. "What kind of ruling did you just make? The minister talked about opposition, and some of us here belong to opposition parties. He should say sorry and take back his words. My parents support opposition parties! Is he talking about my parents? Minister, you are a big mouth!" Deputy Speaker Njie then declared, "The match ends in a tie. One-one."
