July 22, 2021
BY MOHAMED M. SESAY
The Speaker of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone Honorable Dr. Abass Bundu has yesterday the 21st of July, vehemently warned Ministers and Deputy Ministers to desist from illegally claiming the title “Honorable”.
The speaker strongly directed the warning to those who has never been declared as duly elected Members of Parliament prior to their appointments as Ministers and Deputy Ministers respectively.
During his submission, Honorable Dr. Abass Bundu said his attention has been drawn to the illegitimate use of the title “Honorable” by various persons outside the House of Parliament including Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
According to the speaker, he considers it to be illegal by using the title Honorable especially by persons who have never been duly elected by the general public to serve in the capacity as Members of Parliament prior to their appointment as Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
Dr. Abass Bundu also disclosed that Parliamentary investigation has revealed that while such wrong use of the title “Honorable” by Ministers and Deputy Ministers is factual and pervasive, he however said that majority of them use the title out of ignorance and with no intention to deceive or misrepresent the House of Parliament.
He expressed hope that it his expectation that going forward in pursuit of best practice for good governance, and more importantly to avoid further misunderstandings of misapplications of the title “Honorable the trend will stop.
Dr. Bundu made a ruling that the title Honorable in the context of Sierra Leone’s 1991 Constitution, is an attribute that is applied by custom which is reserved and applied exclusively for persons who are currently holding or have held public offices by virtue of being elected or appointed in the following categories below.
He furthered that the President and Vice President by virtue of having been elected under the Constitution of Sierra Leone as President and vice Presidential candidates respectively in the public Presidential election are entitled to be called Honorable; all members of the Legislature of Parliament whether present or past having being duly declared elected as such, should carry the title Honorable even after active service as an elected member of Parliament. “Once an Honorable is always an Honorable”.
He added that Members of the Executive Branch of Government mostly Ministers and Deputy Ministers who prior to their appointments as Ministers or Deputy Ministers, have actually served in Parliament after being declared duly elected members of Parliament; Justices of the Superior Court of judicature whether serving or retired are also entitled to be called Honorable; and finally, by a special dispensation of Parliament, the House of Parliament may decide as masters of it own procedure as recognized and enshrined in section 94 of the 1991 Constitution, to conferred the title “Honorable” on any persons as per the custom and tradition of the 1991 constitution demands.
Dr. Bundu therefore, continued that the misapplication of the title “Honorable” came about as a result of misunderstandings of the Constitution of Sierra Leone adding that, the misapplication of the title “Honorable” is particular with the case of Ministers and Deputy Ministers because he said prior to the 1991 Constitution.
He said prior to the 1991 constitution no person was qualified to be appointed as Minister or Deputy Minister unless that person must have been elected to serve as a Member of Parliament and sworn-in as Member of Parliament.
He reiterated that being a serving Member of Parliament was the primary qualification for the appointment of Ministers and Deputy Ministers in other words, prior to 1991 constitution, he said the Executive Branch of Government particularly Ministers and Deputy Ministers were ran entirely from the Legislative Arm of government. In such circumstance by then, Dr. Bundu intimated that once a Minister and Deputy Minister lost his status of a Member of Parliament, that person ceased to function as Minister and Deputy Minister respectively.
However, Dr. Bundu said the promulgation of the 1991 Constitution radically changed the narrative therefore, instead of the status of members of Parliament be the qualification for the appointment as Minister or Deputy Minister, it has now become a disqualification wherein, if a sitting Member of Parliament is appointed as Minister or Deputy Minister by the president, that Member of Parliament relinquishes the status of a serving member of Parliament. He added that the 1991 constitution introduced and sanctified for the first time, the doctrine of separation of power between the Executive and the Legislative Army of Government meaning one cannot belong to both branches at the same time.
He therefore stressed that after the appointment as Minister or Deputy Minister, that person is only entitled to use the title “Honorable” provided if he has served and duly elected as a Member of Parliament before his/her appointment as Minister or Deputy Minister.
Dr. Bundu noted that the current fundamental doctrine of separation of powers as enshrined in the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, has now compelled the President in searching for Ministers and Deputy Ministers to look essentially to the general public outside Parliament for appointments.
“When a person is appointed as Minister or Deputy Minister from the general public who has never served as an elected Member of Parliament, that person is not entitled to be called “Honorable Minister”. In such case, the designation Mr. Minister or Madam Minister as the case may be, is just good and respectable for such persons. It is my fervent hope of this Honorable house that my ruling has now settled as to who is qualified for the title Honorable at least for our present purpose”, he concluded.