The House of Representatives (HOR) is really a misnomer, that is, if its name is to be indicative of its functioning as a representative institution of people and their constituencies. As it currently operates, the HOR passes legislation and ministers use it as a platform to account for their ministerial functions.
In turn, opposition MPs respond to proposed legislation and take issue with governance and the functioning of the Executive. Not a small amount of time is spent in mauvais langue and increasingly, MPs use the forum to malign citizens who are left without legal recourse. Only occasionally do the MPs operate as representatives of their constituents in bringing the concerns and needs of those they purport to represent to national attention.
As I continue this series examining the malfunctioning and the inadequacy of the political and institutional framework that is desperately in need of change, transformation of the functioning of the HOR is a definite requirement. The deficiency in the HOR has been recognised and stated in every serious proposal for constitutional change. Evidence in support of the need for transformation is often demonstrated by the protests of people in their constituencies whose needs are not being attended to by their representatives.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members