By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The House of Parliament is set to resume sittings today following the end of its annual recess.
The recess allowed the Members of Parliament (MP) to visit their constituencies and engage their constituents. All 132 MPs are expected to be in Parliament on Thursday morning.
Ahead of the resumption of sitting, the leadership of Parliament which includes the Speaker and all four party leaders in parliament participated in a retreat in Bo, where they discussed, among other things, political leadership and tolerance in parliament.
The resumption of parliament comes in the wake of a hotly contested election in Constituency 110 in the Western Rural Area, which was characterized by violent clashes between the main opposition All Peoples Congress and the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party. The election was cancelled by the National Electoral Commission, a move that provoked condemnation from the APC. An APC Member of Parliament, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, was even arrested.
Todays’ session will see Presidential appointees face the house for approval following the conclusion of their interviews by the Appointments Committee in Parliament.
An amendment bill to the Civil Aviation Act of 2017 will also be laid on the floor for approval.
The Public Relations Officer of the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority, Cyril Barnes told Politico that the amendment is aimed at reflecting best practices in line with international standards.
“We are currently undergoing a review under the ICAO program and legislation is the first step during this review process. Among other things, we will fine tune this Act to encompass the Convention of offences and other crimes committed on board aircrafts,” Barnes said.
Members of the House were also urged in a notice from the Clerk’s office to keenly read a document titled Citizens Development Factsheet.
However, the most anticipated bill that will be coming up in the coming months is the amendment bill of the Sexual Offences Act 2016. Work on the review of the bill were in advance stages before the recess.
The call for the amendment to the act came as a result of the surge in sexual based violence against women and children across the country.
Early this year, President Julius Maada Bio declared a state of emergency on rape and sexual penetration. During the declaration he pronounced life sentence for perpetrators that might be found guilty.
His pronouncement was vehemently condemned by the APC. This latest amendment is an attempt to address the grey areas of his pronouncement and updating the law to include immediate challenges and circumstances surrounding these crimes.
© 2019 Politico Online
