The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Sierra Leone, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, has on Thursday 08/08/2024, at the State Hall of Parliament officially launched a comprehensive and exhaustive Legislative Compendium of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone.

Delivering his keynote address on behalf of the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Segepoh Solomon Thomas, the Deputy Speaker appreciated the work of Parliamentary Network Africa for putting together the Fifth Parliament’s Legislative Compendium. He said the Compendium is knowledge that would be transmitted from one generation to another. The Deputy Speaker reiterated that the Fifth Parliament was indeed a different Parliament. He said 70% of the Fifth Parliament’s membership was extremely new, having no parliamentary experience.

Hon. Tawa Conteh also noted that those Members of the Fifth Parliament fully participated in debates and passed progressive laws for the nation.

‘The Fifth Parliament dubbed a Hung Parliament, was very difficult to
manage, but was managed adequately. As difficult as that, we were able to pass critical legislations. To this end, it is my singular honour to officially launch this Legislative Compendium of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone’, the Deputy Speaker pronounced.

Sammy Obeng, the Executive Director of Parliamentary Network Africa, praised the Sixth Parliament’s Leadership for launching the Legislative Compendium. He assured the Parliament’s Leadership of the Network’s continued support, particularly for the Press Gallery and the Parliamentary and Civil Society Network (ParCSoNet). Sammy Obeng expressed optimism that the Legislative Compendium would significantly advance the work of Parliament.

The Director of Legislative Services in the House of Sierra Leone Parliament, Momodu Lamin Deen Rogers, who also served as the consultant for the development of the Legislative Compendium, intimated that he had served five Speakers of the Sierra Leone Parliament and four Clerks of the Sierra Leone
Parliament. With his avalanche of parliamentary experience, he said he used all of his professionalism in collating the Legislative Compendium. The Director of Legislative Services noted that the Fifth Parliament did exceptionally well by executing its legislative authority.

The Deputy Clerk of Parliament, Gilbert Bosco Nhabay, recalled that the Fifth Parliament, despite being considered a hung Parliament, achieved remarkable legislative milestones. He highlighted the enactment of progressive laws for Sierra Leone, including the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act, which provides a 30% quota for female representation in governance. Among the progressive laws enacted were the Sexual Offenses Act amended in 2019, the Public Order Amendment Act of 2020, the Abolition of Death Penalty Act of 2021, the Cyber Security and Crime Act 2021, the Political Parties Regulation Commission Act 2022, and the National Security and Central Intelligence Act 2022. He considered the Fifth Parliament to be the second-open
parliament, a testament to its unique legislative achievements.

The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, described the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone as dramatic and unpredictable because of its composition with several political parties. He said for a political party to get a two-thirds majority, it must be able to persuade other political parties. He also described the Fifth Parliament as the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Leader of the Opposition confessed that having read the Legislative Compendium, he realized that the Fifth Parliament passed more than two hundred legislations. He noted that, the memory of the Fifth Parliament was very glaring to the extent that political parties were looking for candidates with befitting morphology before awarding symbols.

The Leader of Government Business and Majority Leader of Parliament, Hon. Mathew Nyuma said they had done all they could to ensure that the Sierra Leone Parliament operated in tandem with an admirable democratic di
spensation. He considered the Fifth Parliament to be the best in Sierra Leone’s history. As a hung Parliament, he said they were able to come together and passed progressive laws for Sierra Leone. The Majority Leader also recalled that they used the appropriate Standing Orders to punish their colleagues who wanted to play with the rules of Parliament. He stressed that the Hung Parliament made the Fifth Parliament very strong. He reiterated that in the Fifth Parliament, they were able to challenge the International Standard for Female representation. He referenced that the purpose of the Legislative Compendium is to highlight the legislative Hansard of the Fifth Parliament from 2018-2023. Hon. Nyuma also described the Fifth Parliament as a conglomerate of representation.

This compendium, with its comprehensive coverage, provides a detailed understanding of the laws and legislative instruments handled by the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone from April 2018 to June 2023. The Legislative C
ompendium, a testament to the Fifth Parliament’s dedication and hard work, also looked into the Hansard and activities of some parliamentary committees and how those activities positively impacted the legislative outputs.

Source : Sierra Leone News Agency