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By HARLYNE JOKU
PARLIAMENT sits at 2pm today to begin a full first session of the 8th
Parliament since the official opening on Sept 18.
One of the main focus will be to rescind an amendment passed by the
National Government January which technically abolished the seats of
rural and urban local level governments presidents in provincial
assemblies.
Acting Prime Minister Dr Puka Temu announced yesterday that NEC had
agreed that the presidents be reinstated as members of the provincial
assemblies through a bill to be introduced in this session.
Dr Temu said the NEC decision came following advice from the Minister
for Inter Government Relations Job Pomat and Attorney-General Minister
Dr Allan Marat, that the presidents were removed by a private Members
bill when amendments were passed on Section 10 and Section 18 of the
Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Governments on Jan 30.
He said that under the amended law, the composition of the provincial
assembly now consisted of Members of Parliament representing
electorates, the appointed paramount chiefs, the appointed women’s
representatives and other appointed members.
“The presidents are no longer eligible to be appointed as deputy
governors of provincial governments; appointments are restricted only to
Members of the National Parliament,” Dr Temu said.
He said NEC had accepted the advice that the amended law had serious
implications, and agreed that the bill, when passed, would have a
retrospect effect so that heads of the LLGs affected would be deemed to
have continued in office despite the amended law.
Dr Temu, however, warned that pending the enactment of the bill, the
presidents who were currently not members of the provincial assemblies,
would not perform any duties as assembly members but would be
compensated through ex-gratia payments.
In the meantime, Dr Temu advised all LLG presidents to continue to
perform all the functions they were authorised to perform, except as
members of the provincial assembly.
Meanwhile Treasury Minister Patrick Pruaitch told The National that
Parliament would also be presenting the K1.6 billion supplementary
budget derived from a windfall surplus.
He said most of the budget would be spent on districts throughout the
country through their District Improvement Support Grants.
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