April 21, 2021
BY MOHAMED M. SESAY (LUCKY)
I am still in my pensive mood trying to actually fathom whether Sierra Leoneans should continue to address some of our radical Members of Parliament as “HONORABLES”. This is even of necessity considering the madcap display of their dishonorable and atavistic tendencies largely unashamedly executed by Members of the main opposition ALL People’s Congress party during the sitting of parliament housed at the Bintumani Conference Center. That disgraceful behavior of those Members of Parliament could be euphemistically compared to the behavior of street gangs and click boys in the ghettos.
With all their preexisting phobia coupled with their vim and vigor aimed at undermining the continuity of Mid-Term Census process, development partners especially the World Bank has just announced a thirty million dollar ($ 30 million) in support of the Mid-Term Housing and population census. The reason for APC’S phobia in connection to the Mid-Term Census and the 2020 Cybercrime bill is still hard to comprehend. It is seemingly proven to mean that the phobia of the opposition party with regards to the conduct of the Mid-Term Census is to prevent the government not to unearth the much talked about discrepancies in the 2015 housing and population census.
Monday’s Parliamentary hullabaloo coupled with deadly fisticuffs was like a bitter sweet experience for me indeed. Sweet experience because I saw myself as an officiating officer ready to award the fearless fighter of the wrestle match the golden belt for their fierce punches on the challengers. But again, I felt perturbed seeing our elected representatives belittling themselves and equally putting the country’s most cherished pride into opprobrium. During the course of the premeditated vandalism of Parliament, I had my canon camera in my hand but could not film nor snap because my mind was preoccupied with deep excogitation of what the future holds for us as electorate, and what the future holds for our democracy, peace and stability of the country. If our lawmakers have become antagonists when it comes to issues of national interest just to satisfy their political party interest, then it is very sad for the country.
Let me go into the genesis of what led to the “gang- starism” among our elected representatives which I belief was long-nursed by the main opposition APC Party to unlawfully disrupt the proceedings of Parliament. It is no secret that the Bio Government sometimes last year, tasked statistics Sierra Leone to conduct a Mid-Term Census which will help inform developmental activities across every facet of the country. Based on that notion, and inconformity with the laws of the country, the president got a rethink for the forthcoming Mid-Term Census to go through parliament so that it will be legal and stand the test of time. In consonance with section 86 subsection (1) of Act No.6 of the 1991 constitution which provides that; “the president may at any time summon a meeting of parliament”. As vested in him by the constitution, the parliament then made a proclamation so that parliament will be reconvened and table the “Census Order of 2021” and the “Census (Act of 2002 Act No. 14 of 2001)” in the well of parliament.
As per the modus operandi of Parliament, the speaker in consultation with the various leadership of parliament reconvened parliament on Monday the 19th of April 2021 so that the proclamation made by the President could be tabled in Parliament. The main opposition in their zealous arrival at the Bintumani Conference Centre where parliament was reconvened, it was easily detectable that they went premeditatedly to disrupt the process not no continue. The Leader of the Main Opposition claimed that they were never consulted nor were they informed which precipitated standoff in the well of parliament. Refuting the claim made by the leader of the opposition that they were never consulted about the emergency sitting of parliament, the Leader of the Government Business provided a convincing proof that they were adequately informed and procedurally consulted about the emergency sitting of parliament as proclaimed by the President. In fulfilment of their quest to disrupt the parliamentary sitting, a whole proclamation made by the president was torn which was a merely exhibition a colossal disregard for the highest office in the land.
Moreover, many of the actions that have reflected adversely upon parliamentarians in recent times have not just involved conflicts of interest or the compromise of
Legislative judgment, but a myopic partisan interests. What the Bintumani upheaval indicates is that a narrow focus on conflicts of (financial) interest is mistaken and that, the focus must be on the wider issue of behavior. This will involve not merely adopting measures that protect legislative judgment, but measures that protect the
Integrity of the institution, and the country’s respect for the house of Parliament. It is an undisputable fact that, misconduct matters in a democracy because all democratic systems rely upon the probity of their leaders to engender trust in the system by citizens, in order that the system will endure. The issue that our house of parliament faces is to adopt measures that will in fact reduce the amount of actual and perceived misconduct and affront to the dignity of Parliament. On a most liberal perspective, the sporadic parliamentary tug of war at present is highly under my condemnation. Parliamentarians are unwilling to find formally that their colleagues, of whatever ilk, have acted improperly especially the leadership of the main opposition APC Party. They are unwilling to impose sanctions when clear examples of misconduct present themselves and their Political considerations often thwart public interests.
In conclusion, the leadership of the main opposition would have directed his party to have used the civil aspect of venting their dissatisfaction for any issue they thought was procedurally skipped other than resulting to hooliganism, vandalism and physical fisticuff. Having boycotted and easily walked out of parliament would have been the most honorary thing an honorable member of parliament would have done. I don’t know whether provisions are made in the Standing Orders of parliament for drastic actions to be taken on members of parliament for monstrous conducts such as the one on Monday. A reoccurrence of such conduct by members of parliament has the propensity to further put the country into mimicry.
