The Executive Director of Institute of Governance Reform (IGR), Andrew Lavalie, has said that Parliament should activate procedures to increase punctuality which has been a perennial challenge among MPs in Sierra Leone.
He made the statement while he was presenting a report titled “Sierra Leone: Tracking Parliamentary Attendance and Debates from October to December 2021,” at IGR’s conference room in Freetown.
The report is based on a research on parliamentary attendance collated on parliamentary attendance of MPs for sittings on time.
As part of the recommendation highlighted in the Report, he said that if the Parliament of Sierra Leone had decided to go digital, as a first they should automate attendance of MPs.
He commended the level of attendance from MPs, but noted that their level of commitment does not necessarily translate into greater MP retention, saying that citizens are unaware of the nature of the work that Parliamentarians do and to be in a position to give a fair appraisal as to what is expected of them in the discharge of their duties.
“MPs should increase outreach to the public, sharing more with them about their parliamentary work. This will also help citizens to have a better understanding of what should be the work of Parliamentarians and what is not (such as providing personalised benefits to citizens),” Lavalie said.
IGR also recommends that steps should be taken to track MP attendance in committees and other assignments as well as their implementation of the laws passed by the house.
He noted that the overall attendance of parliamentarians is encouraging citing that 75% of MPs attended at least 50% of the 20 sittings. About 25% of MPs did not attend half of the 20 sittings.
“A total of 92 MPs (representing 64% of Parliament) attended more than 70% of the sittings, while 27 MPs (19%) attended between 10 and 13 sittings. Another 27 members (19%) attended less than half (below nine) of the sittings,” he added.
It was also noted that only 24% of MPs were retained in the 2018 elections, showing increased citizen’s dissatisfaction with the performance of elected representatives.
He mentioned that commitment to duty as reflected in regular attendance and participation in sessions is critical for Parliament’s scrutiny and oversight roles as well as for the overall functioning of government.
By George M.O. Williams