The proposed meeting of the House of Parliament earlier scheduled for Thursday 26th April has now been brought forward to Tuesday 24th April after a daylong consultation between Members of Parliament (MPs) and the administrative wing of the House.
The newly appointed clerk of parliament Hon Paran Tarawally had earlier announced a shift in the date from Thursday 19th to Thursday 26th. He said the new decision reached to reverse the date of the meeting from Thursday 26th to Tuesday 24th April 2018 was as a result of consultative meeting held where a final decision was made in the interest of all the Members of Parliament.
He maintained that he received the copy of the Gazette containing the information of the newly elected Members of Parliament on Tuesday 17th April 2018, adding this also formed part of the reason for the rescheduling of the date to Tuesday 24th April 2018.
All the Members of Parliament have not received the frequent postponements favourably. as according to the one of the
Independent Candidate from Pujehun Hon Shiaka Sama, complained that they should have been informed earlier of the postponements, because since their constituencies are in the provinces, they will now have to adjust their budget to cover the extra days they will now have to spend in Freetown.
When the House convenes, the first business of the day would be to elect the Speaker. Hon. Sama says they will vote for the Speaker based on the will of their people. As an Independent candidate who won his seat, Hon Sama says his representation is not on party basis but on behalf of his people.
According to the Leadership of the Coalition for Change in Parliament (C4C) Hon Sahr Emmerson Lamina, they have no problem with the postponement. He noted that they were new in the House of parliament but that their vote will be for the candidate who will provide the required leadership of the house.
By Alhaji Manika Kamara
Thursday April 19, 2018.
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