By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Justice, Mohamed Lamin Tarawally has presented a bill in Parliament that seeks to replace the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) Administrator and Register General with the Executive Secretary as Secretary to the Commission.
The bill which was entitled "The Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Act, 2022, for democratic governance” was presented to Sierra Leone’s parliament for debate on Tuesday 9th August 2022.
Presenting the bill, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice said the document intends to amend a section and Act of the constitution of Sierra Leone that calls for the repeal and replacement of the PPRC Executive Secretary who shall be the Secretary to the Commission.
He said there shall be 5 members that would be appointed by the President to serve in the commission. He told the lawmakers that, the Commission would be independent and noted that the administration’s documents would be properly audited.
Member of Parliament, Daniel Koroma of constituency 046 in Koinadugu District while contributing to the debate, referred to the memorandum and objected in light of the change of name that it should reflect its function, saying that, the document is not contentious. He said that there was no reason to delay the bill and urged for it to be passed into law.
Chairman of the Legislative Committee, Abdul S. Marray Conteh of constituency 130 in Freetown said the Bill proposed structural changes and that it was time to give the institution regulatory and administrative functions. He also urged for the bill to be passed into law without delay.
Acting Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Bashiru Silikie of constituency 082 in Bo district said the bill is a way forward for the democracy of the country. He noted that the bill seeks to empower the PPRC and the democratic process of the country.
All the Members of Parliament that debated the bill described the issues in the document as not contentious and therefore expressed hope that, when they get to the committee stage, they would do the needful.
Leaders of all the opposition parties in parliament including the APC party commended the bill, urging for it to be legislated without delay.
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