MONROVIA, Montserrado – Members of the 54th National Legislature resumed active duty on Monday, January 14 for the second legislative session, in line with their constitutional requirement.
The body officially adjourned for its first session in September and then convened for a 30-day special ordinary session to deliberate on important national issues on October 29.
The reopening activities began with a parade headed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, Bhofal Chambers, Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor, who is also President of the Senate, and Senate Pro Temp Albert Chie. The parade was proceeded by the members of the Senate and House of Representatives hoisting the national and county flags outside the Capitol Building before proceeding to their respective chambers for the official opening of sessions.
In his opening statement, Chambers promised to work closely with his colleagues in the best interest of the country and its people.
“In line with legislative best practices, it is our hope that bills and resolutions pending in committee rooms, which account for 53 in total, will be properly scrutinized for prompt plenary action,†he said.
He said during the first session, the House Representatives recorded 57 regular sittings, 43 executive sittings, 6 special sittings, 15 extraordinary sittings, and 13 public hearings. He disclosed also that 26 bills and 8 legislative resolutions were passed, totaling 34. Of the 26 bills passed, he said 9 originated from the House of Representatives, 5 from the Senate and 12 from the Executive Branch.
For his part, Senate Pro Temp Chie described the second session as crucial to the senators, as half of their positions would become contestable next year. He said he expected the year to be busy for the senators, as those seeking re-election would have to spend time in their respective constituencies campaigning.
“This may leave gaps at committee levels which junior senators are expected to cover in addition to their own responsibilities,†he said.
Chie also promised that the Senate would strengthen its oversight responsibilities on various government agencies through its committees during the second session. According to him, committees had relaxed much of their oversight responsibilities last year to allow new heads of government agencies to adjust to their positions.
“It is our belief that most of these agency heads have had enough time to adjust to carry out the people’s business. The Senate, through its committees, will, beginning this year, vigorously evaluate the performances of these government agencies,†he noted.
He said during the current session, the Senate plans to request that the General Auditing Commission audit all government agencies for the last fiscal period and report to the legislature, as it is required by law.
He said the audits would confirm the existence of internal controls within various agencies and the effectiveness of those controls, thereby ensuring effective performance of the agencies in line with their statutory mandates and to remain accountable to the people.
Chie disclosed that during the extraordinary session last November, the Senate conducted special hearings on the state of the economy, the alleged missing Liberian dollars banknotes, and the infusion of over US$25 million into the economy as a short-term measure to stabilize the depreciating exchange rate by mopping up excess liquidity.
He said at these hearings, members of the country’s Economic Management Team informed the Senate that the economy was in a challenging state. However, he said there could not be a conclusion by the Senate on the state of the economy because the period of the extraordinary session was not sufficient to allow the body to reach a final conclusion.
He said the Senate decided to suspend its hearings in trying to verify previous information provided until the report of the presidential investigating committee is released.
He added that the international forensic investigative team hired by USAID is also expected to release its report soon. He encouraged citizens to remain patient.
At the same time, Chie reported that the Senate, during its first session in 2018, passed 34 bills, while 83 others from both the 53rd and the first session of the 54th legislature are currently under review by the senators.
“This number includes bills proposed by senators and members of the House of Representatives,†he said.
He named the Land Rights Act as one of the key legislative instruments considered by the Senate during the period under review. According to him, the bill grants traditional communities rights to legally own and manage their lands. He said the act contains provisions which, when fully implemented, will minimize land conflicts, which are considered as a key threat to the peace and stability of the country.
He also named the passage of the Local Government Act as one of the lawmaking achievements of the Senate, noting that the law is intended to decentralize governance.
Chie also recalled that last year, the Senate received a bill of impeachment from the lower House against Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh of the Supreme Court. He said the Senate’s action on the bill would continue during the new session.
In his comment, Chie also noted the official turnover of two new annexes of the Capitol Building by the Chinese government to the Liberian government as one of the major activities at the Senate during the last session.
“We took actions which, in our minds, will eventually lead to the improvement in the lives and well-being of our people. Actions taken during the period were in accordance with the doctrines of good governance, the rule of law, [the] principle of the separation of power, and the maintenance of the peace that Liberians enjoyed today,†he said.
Featured photo by Ida Reeves
