Opposition decries new law, saying it lacks proper scrutiny

YANGORU-Saussia MP Richard Maru says the new National Pandemic Bill that comes into effect tomorrow enters the Constitution without any checks and balances or scrutiny by Parliament.
Maru and 13 other MPs had disagreed with certain parts of the Bill (2020) and voted against it.
“We (Opposition) have fundamental issues which is why we disagreed with the way this Bill was drafted,” Maru said.
“Covid-19 costs K600 million, despite complaints we have yet to see an audit.
“It’s in the public interest that we decided not to support the passing of the Act and safeguard limited public funds that our country has.”
Kandep MP Alfred Manase said legislations such as that needed to be properly tightened.
“Some areas where the law has been drafted like accountability process is what we are more concerned with,” he said.
“The law must be fair when applied and enforced in the country.
“We want to support this Act but we also want to make sure the law is fair to individuals when applied and not being abused by people who enforce it.”