A Committee Joke? Where Is the Real Work?!

Just when you think Members of Parliament could not get any more disconnected from the people they represent, they find new ways to prove otherwise. The latest trend: congratulating themselves for being appointed to parliamentary committees, easily the most unproductive bodies ever invented.

Suddenly, our social media feeds are flooded with congratulatory posts and graphics, as if it were St. Martin’s Day or Christmas. Why? What exactly are you congratulating yourself for?

What is the plan for these committee positions? Parliament is already full of made-up “bodies of importance” meant to make MPs look busy instead of actually drafting legislation to improve the lives of ordinary people. We have ad hoc committees (ad hoc apparently meaning confusion), “permanent” committees that achieve nothing permanent, central committee meetings that cover the same ground, and public meetings that seem to exist only because the MPs decided to put on formal clothes. It’s all performance and very little substance.

Ironically, the two MPs who seemed to take their committee work seriously, MPs Sjamira Roseburg and Darryl York, were both stripped of their chair positions. We all see why. MP York asked too many questions that might make things uncomfortable for the most condescending Minister ever, and MP Roseburg’s Justice Committee was too testy for comfort. The result can be predicted: Silence. No meetings. No oversight. No accountability. Those two idealistic MPs got a dose a political reality in the form of two back-handed slaps. Sit. Down.

If I was Roseburg or York, I would channel that scene from the movie "Shaft" with Samuel L. Jackson. When a court stripped him of his badge as a police officer, he asked a criminal: "Do you think that makes me less dangerous, or more?" I say that because those two are now not constrained by the chair. They can be and should be more effective if they were genuinely serious about the people and not enamored with the fake prestige of the chair.

So here we are, with a Parliament congratulating itself over committee appointments while offering no meaningful progress on the things that actually matter. GEBE rates are still high. Food prices are still high. Rent and housing costs are unbearable. Crime continues to rise. People are sharing homes because they cannot afford to live alone. Society is withering right in front of us, and our MPs are busy posting graphics to celebrate seats on useless committees.

Here’s a reality check: you cannot cover up a lack of work with pretty designs and photo ops. We need action, not applause for work you have not done.