Last Thursday, while the Secretary of State for Housing Nawal Ben Hamou (PS) spoke regarding the late payment of the rent allowance, a man who attended the session attacked her, reports Bruzz. “You’re lying! This is wrong, no family received the money in their account, you are a liar”, launched the man installed in the “audience”. “You fired me for warning you“, he chanted once more, before the session was interrupted and he was escorted out of the room, where the military police intervened to arrest him. According to our colleagues, the troublemaker still caused a stir in the lobby of parliament, and a member of Nawal Ben Hamou’s cabinet would have felt “threatened”.
The man in question is actually not a real stranger. Recently dismissed from the housing service of the Brussels-Capital region, he had obtained the status of whistleblower for having revealed the problems linked to the payment of the rent allowance. Status which had been withdrawn once the file was analyzed in more depth. With Bruzz, he returned to the incident. “I actually shouted from the audience. But what is even more outrageous is that the secretary of state has asked parliament to cut off the live stream of the parliamentary session. This is contrary to the separation of powers. The government does not have to give orders to the parliament“, he denounced. Indeed, the video broadcast was interrupted, but Nawal Ben Hamou’s cabinet said that it had nothing to do with it.
The incident sparked controversy within Parliament, in particular because some politicians, such as Rachid Madrane (PS), find that committee chairman Petya Obolensky (PTB-PVDA) reacted too laxly. The Brussels socialist wishes to remind committee chairmen “that there is a regulation in the Parliament of Brussels”. “Members of the public are welcome in our parliament, but they are not allowed to interfere in parliamentary debate.”, he told our colleagues. Rachid Madrane also plans to bring the incident before the Extended Bureau.
