Speaker attacks retired clerk

Speaker attacks retired clerk
From left: Maurice Tynes and Speaker of the House, Halson Moultrie.

House Speaker, Halson Moultrie, laid out a verbal attack on retired senior clerk, Maurice Tynes in Parliament Wednesday charging that the former civil servant should “rest in peace.”

Moultrie was responding to a Letter to the Editor authored by Tynes, who publicly voiced his disdain with the Speaker’s suspension of Englerston MP, Glenys Hanna Martin, and comments made by the Speaker about his “mistrust” of the staff of Parliament.

Defending his position, the Speaker said that nothing can be further from the truth.

“The retired clerk seems to be having difficulty dealing with his retirement and staying out of the affairs of this Parliament,” Moultrie said. “He showed his true colours and provided the needed evidence to justify my statements and, in the process, vindicated the position that trust is earned.

“Under the guise of concern for the staff of this institution, the retired clerk, in an apparently politically motivated side attack, has justified my statements. New news is what the doctor ordered to clean up the puss and oozing wounds brought about by contaminated thinking.”

Moultrie added that he used to be under the impression that the former clerk was a friend.

“I remember when I was in third-party politics the clerk would call me all the time with material to attack the Ingraham Administration,” Moultrie explained. “His advice almost caused the former prime minister to sue me. …It appears that he was only trying to help the PLP as he is doing today. …Thank you Mr. Retired Clerk. My your soul rest in peace.”

Eyewitness News reached out to Tynes, who is not deceased, for comment. He said that he plans to review the Hansard, the House’s official record before he responds.

The Speaker also addressed Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader, Philip ‘Brave’ Davis who reportedly said that Moultrie is a “hater of women”.

The PLP leader, he said, has resulted to “gutter politics” and cried shame on the member. Moultrie defended his character noting his 30 plus years of marriage to an “indigenous” Bahamian woman and added that he was no “soft powder puff man” looking to steal headlines.

Moultrie announced that he also plans to establish “instant replay” of House proceedings to ensure that there are no gaps and inaudible recordings from House members to ensure that all recordings are without error.

About Genea Noel

Genea Noel is the news director and weeknight TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. She began working at Eyewitness News in 2018 as the newsroom editor and was subsequently promoted during her tenure. As a household name who graces the screens of thousands of Bahamian homes each night, Genea has racked up an impressive five Bahamas Press Club awards, including “The Cyril Stevenson Award for Outstanding Political Journalism” (2020), “Best Studio Live Producer” (2020) and “Best Newscast” (2018).