Speaker Abass Bundu Cautions Newly Elected Members of Parliament

By Alusine Fullah

Hon. Dr Abass Chernor Bundu, speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament has cautioned and enlightened the newly sworn in members of parliament about their functions as per constitution of Sierra Leone. In his speech, he started by thanking members of parliament for renewing his mandate by electing him as Speaker of the Sixth Parliament of the Second Republic. He said: “You agreed overwhelmingly to renew my mandate and repose your trust and confidence in me by electing me as Speaker of this Sixth Parliament of the Second Republic. For this singular honour you have bestowed on me to continue to serve my beloved country, Sierra Leone, I want to thank all of you, old and new Members alike, and I do so most profoundly.”

Moreover, Speaker Abass Bundu further highlighted the key functions of all the members of Parliament. He said: “I don’t know how many of you have a true understanding of the meaning and significance of the solemn oath of office that you all swore as Members of Parliament last Thursday. It is my fervent hope that all of you do, but In case there is anyone with a doubt about its import, let me take just a little time to explain and elucidate. All of us in this chamber seated as Members of Parliament owe one of the greatest responsibilities that anyone can undertake for this country. Together, we alone are the chosen people exclusively vested with the power to make laws for this country and, more particularly, to make laws for the peace, security, order and good government of Sierra Leone. That power is inalienable and is given to us by the Constitution of Sierra Leone, which is the supreme law of the land… it is enshrined in Section 73 of the Constitution… That said; let me now turn to the next important responsibility of Members of Parliament. We are responsible for translating into law the policy directives brought to us in this House by the Executive arm of Government.”

Hon. Bundu also admonished every Member of Parliament to maintain at all times the dignity and image of Parliament in all their activities both in and out of Parliament. In this regard, According to the Speaker of Parliament, Members of Parliament are not only representatives of the people, they are obligated to cease and desist from any conduct by which they seek improperly to enrich or alienate themselves from the people. He said: “a Member cannot put himself in a situation where he is perceived to approbate on the one hand and to reprobate on the other. He must always stand above board and always stand on the right side of the law of the Constitution. Accordingly, he must conduct himself as a role model for others to emulate and he must therefore not make himself a violator of the Constitution in any way. So if there is any Member who thinks wittingly or unwittingly he may done something that is in violation of the Constitution, he is best advised to consult with the Clerk of Parliament to establish whether there has been an infraction and how it could be remedied quietly and discreetly. 

 The Speaker shed light on the activities the Fifth Parliament of Sierra Leone did. He highlighted: “Despite the Fifth Parliament being a Hung Parliament, in total, we held no fewer than 301 plenary sittings; passed 84 Bills into law and some as extraordinary in nature as they were ground-breaking; approved 64 Constitutional and Statutory Instruments; approved 208 Agreements of Loans and Grants; ratified 51 Treaties, Conventions and Protocols; and tabled 121 Reports from Committees and Delegations. Altogether there were a total of 829 instruments. That was a record without precedent in the history of the Parliament of Sierra Leone.

In his final statement, the mentions some of the laws that the Fifth Parliament enacted into law. He concluded: “Among the ground-breaking laws passed by the Fifth Parliament was the repeal of some draconian portions of the Public Order Act, 1965, to give more freedom to journalists to practise their profession; the abolition of the death penalty; the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act (GEWE Act) and Section 58 of the Public Elections Act, both of 2022. The combined operation of these last two laws has enabled this nation to move towards the path of justice for women in this country and away from the status quo and the traditional stereotype. It should therefore surprise no one when global accolades begin to pour into the country for President Bio’s decision to appoint up to 33% women into his government. Within our ranks here in Parliament women lawmakers today account for 30.4% of the elected seats, compared to 14.5% in the Fifth Parliament. What a quantum leap this is! We must pay homage to President Maada Bio who signed into law the GEWE Act just a few months ago, which sets a 30% quota of women in Parliament, the cabinet and other public institutions. For the first time in the history of Parliament, women won 41 out of the 135 seats from the General Election. When we add the one Woman Paramount Chief Member re-elected to the House out of the 14 PCs Members of Parliament, we still have 28.2% seats for women out of a total of 149 seats…”