March 3, 2021
By Mohamed M. Sesay
The Speaker of the fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone Hon. Dr. Abass Chernor Bundu in collaboration with the West-minister Foundation for Democracy (WFD) has yesterday the 2nd of March, launched the Parliamentary Service Charter in Committee Room one in the House of Parliament. The essence of this initiative is to promote accountability, Gender Mainstreaming, inclusiveness, transparency, Integrity, impartiality and professionalism in the operation of Parliament.
Delivering a keynote, Hon. Dr. Abass Bundu referenced section 105 of Act No. 6 of the 1991 constitution of Sierra Leone which provides that Parliament is the supreme law making authority in the land of Sierra Leone. This constitutional fact, he argues, means that, no other institution or authority shares that responsibility with them as members of parliament.
He added that their vision as members of parliament is to serve as a beacon of peace, hope, democracy and good governance.
He asserted that their mission as parliament is to make government work for the people by giving voice to the voiceless through law-making, promote transparency, accountability and equitable distribution of resources.
He added that members of parliament would pledge to continue to live up to the expectation of the nation in carrying out their mission to the satisfaction of the populace that they serve.
“We are the supreme law making authority in the land we call Sierra Leone and that is what parliament is all about so it is my pleasant duty this morning to witness and declare the launch of the Parliamentary Service Charter”, said Dr. Bundu
Hon. Dr. Bundu continued that they as Members of Parliament cannot only execute their constitutional mandates in the best interest of the people, but would also sustain their mission for generations yet unborn to benefit from their legacy as law makers. He concluded his statement by extending profound thanks and appreciation to the West-minister Foundation for Democracy and the British Foreign Department for their immense contribution in the development of the Parliamentary Service Charter. He reassured that parliament would uphold and sustain all that is contained in the Parliamentary Service Charter.
In his statement, the Clerk of Parliament Hon Paran Tarawally (Ph.D) described the launch of the Parliamentary Service Charter as a milestone achievement under the leadership of Hon. Dr. Abass Chernor Bundu.
He added that before now, Sierra Leone’s parliament has not part of the Open Governance Space. He noted that in 2019, the House of Parliament set six milestone achievements of which three out of the six have been achieved including the establishment of the Service Charter for Parliament.
He continued that the Parliamentary Service Charter of Sierra Leone is a reflection of the institution’s commitment to assist and make available the best parliamentary service standards to citizens of Sierra Leone. He further stated that the Charter serves as a means through which citizens are aware about the processes of seeking and obtaining information about parliament, in terms of legislative processes and amendments, historical information, records and reports.
He said the Charter seeks to demonstrate a commitment to improvement in service delivery by parliament and ensures engagement with citizens at strategic level in order to make room for professionalism and excellence in public service.
He also highlighted its strategic vision of being a participatory and responsive parliament, and in line with its renewed endeavor to fulfill its constitutional obligation.
He said the Parliament of Sierra Leone through the Service Charter is set to respond to the information needs of the public and make the institution accessible thus making it legitimate.
Hon. Paran noted that they as members of parliament have set themselves an ambitious but exciting goal of incorporating corporative governance practices into the culture of parliament adding that, one critical commitment to enhancing that goal is to improve the quality and responsiveness of their services to their internal and external clients.
He further asserted that they cannot keep such development in the dark without making sincere commitment and bringing it to the attention of the public. He added that it was against that background that they decided to develop a service charter in order to make a clear statement of intent of putting their clients at the forefront of their operations as Members of Parliament.
The Chairman for National Council for Civic Education (NaCCED) Kalilu Totangi remarked that he was very proud of the fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone for what he considered as a tremendous openness and accountability surfacing within the house of parliament.
He recalled that last year he was in parliament on the Parliamentary Open Day, the first event of its kind when parliament made its annual report open inclusive of financial report which promotes good governance and democratic accountability.
He added that with the establishment of the Parliamentary Service Charter, he affirmed that it is a justifiable means to assert that parliament is willing to embrace openness, accountability and good governance into the body politics of Sierra Leone. He noted that most of the contents in the service charter are analogously aligned with the service charters in other countries.
The Country Representative for West-Minister Foundation for Democracy Rev. Diamond Suma said as a partner of the House of Parliament, he appreciates the leadership of the Sierra Leone’s Parliament for ensuring transparency, accountability and openness.
He especially lauded the aspect of assuring increased access to citizen’s interactions and participation in the work of parliament. He added that the aim of the Service Charter is to improve transparency with government and eliminate corruption adding that, the service charter has become a center policy making body in different countries, producing action plans in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations. He said the charter guarantees civic participation and public accountability.
He further stated that the Service Charter provides a very unique platform to engage with civil society and government. Through this mechanism the Parliament of Sierra Leone would now work together with regular negotiation and mediation in order to address critical issues of trust that would result to mutual corporation and shared vision.
He pointed out that parliament has been implementing and monitoring the development of citizen’s participation in the legislative and the budgeting process, and also publishing its annual reports.
He concluded that having the Service Charter is an amazing idea geared towards ensuring accountability and citizen’s interactions. He underscored the point that the Charter would set the bar very high in terms of standards of service under which the Parliament of Sierra Leone operates.