Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly
By Landing Ceesay
As the tenure of the Fifth Legislature ends today, the Honourable Speaker Mariama Jack-Denton has disclosed that the session has enacted 53 Bills.
“Honourable Members, during the course of proceedings of this Fifth Legislature, Parliament was able to consider, scrutinise and pass numerous legislations that touched on the lives and livelihoods of the people and the nation in general. According to our records, about fifty-three (53) Bills were enacted from 2017 to February 2022, including the annual Appropriation Acts,” she said.
Honourable Jack-Denton outlined the prominent Bills that the Fifth Legislature has enacted in 5 years.
“Prominent among these legislations are the National Human Rights Commission Act, 2017; the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission Act, 2017; the Constitutional Review Commission Act, 2017; the Forest Act, 2018; the Maritime Zones Act, 2019; the Women Enterprises Fund Act, 2020; the Petroleum Commission Act, 2021; the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2021; the National Assembly Service Act, 2021; the National Health Insurance Act, 2021; and most recently, the Public Service Pensions Act, 2022,” the Speaker told the Fifth Legislature during their final session on today.
The speaker stated that the Fifth Legislature witnessed the tabling of the Constitution (Promulgation) Bill, 2020 (the CRC Draft Constitution) by the Hon. Attorney General and Minister for Justice in 2020.
However, she said the Bill stalled in Parliament at the Second Reading Stage and added that the Government may decide to come back to Parliament to continue the process of promulgating a new Constitution for the Republic.
“The Legislature also witnessed the tabling of three (3) Member’s Bills and enacted two of them; while the other one tabled failed to pass through the second reading stage. This is unprecedented in the history of the National Assembly as only one Member’s Bill was ever introduced and passed in the National Assembly.
“Honourable Members, Parliament has also facilitated and confirmed appointments to the National Human Rights Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Judicial Service Commission. We wish them all success in their endeavours with their respective institutions,” she said.
On behalf of the House, she acknowledged Hon. Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and head of Departments and Agencies whose efforts and collaboration have helped in the above accomplishments.
The Honourable speaker Mariama Jack-Denton made these remarks in her farewell speech during the last session of the Fifth Legislature that lasted from 2017 to 2022.
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