By Ragan M. Conteh
The Leader of the National Grand Coalition (NGC), Hon Dr Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, has informed the media that the recent brouhaha in Parliament was undemocratic and a bad precedent. The ‘kuss kass’ erupted at the Bintumani Conference Center when the Opposition Members of Parliament protested and called for constitutionality over the pending National Midterm Census.
Hon KKY recalled that, during the approval of the State of Emergency, the entire house of Parliament agreed for the State of Emergency Regulations to be brought to Parliament within 14 days period.
“It was an arrangement the then deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice woefully failed to heed,” he reminded the House.
He furthered that the Regulations were used by the Government, especially the security apparatus, without parliamentary approval until the one year State of Emergency expired.
According to him, that sort of precedent is very dangerous, “because what the SLPP government is doing today will have the tendency to be used by every other incoming President.”
KKY informed that bad precedents will not and never move Sierra Leone forward. They will only add more undemocratic procedures, and project the country’s ineptitude in terms of respect for laws.
He stated that to even deny the Leader of the opposition, a mike to talk at in Parliament, is very frightening and undemocratic. He blamed the Speaker for creating the fracas at the Bintumani Conference Center.
“We are used to having negotiations and consultations in recent times. But they are no longer in existence,” he said.
He pointed out that, whenever a controversial bill is tabled in Parliament and issues arise during the sitting, the Speaker will stand down the sitting for some minutes, and leaders will go for negotiations and comeback with one voice.
He said that failure, by the Speaker to heed to the Leader of the Opposition’s concerns, created all the tension and chaos in Parliament.
The NGC Leader furthered that the culture of bulldozing, in a democratic space, undermines development. He said the law is very clear according to Parliament Standing Order 4(3b), which says, “When a President summons an emergency Parliamentary sitting, it must be done in consultation with the leader (s) of political parties in Parliament before it is brought in Parliament.”
He pointed out that the procedure for the pending Mid Term Census has not been followed by the Government. “Due procedures must be followed so as to avoid continuous constitutional breaches,” KKY said.
The Leader of the Coalition for Change (C4C), in Parliament, Hon Francis Saa Bhendu, in his statement, stated that the continuous violation of constitutional procedures and Standing Orders of Parliament, by authorities, is a cause for concern.
Hon. Bendu revealed that what is currently happening in the governance of the state is undemocratic and does not represent the true picture of good governance. He added that the oppositions’ voices should not be denied because they are partners in development.
During the sitting, the Leader of the Opposition, Hon Chernor Maju Bah, quoted Standing Order 4 (3b), in Parliament, relating to the procedures and provisos enshrined in the Standing Orders of Parliament, stating that the sitting was illegal.
The Opposition Leader furthered that the proviso is very clear, that whenever an emergency meeting is summoned by the President, the Leadership of the Opposition parties, in Parliament, must be consulted for 21 days before a sitting. He added those provisos were never followed.
According to the Speaker, the 1991 Constitution bestows powers on the President to undertake a proclamation, which supersedes the Standing Orders of Parliament. After that statement, the opposition Members of Parliament expressed dismay over the action of the Speaker and went ahead and disrupted the entire proceedings. This seriously embarrassed him (Speaker); he left the scene in fear of mob justice by the irate MPs.
The Speaker was under siege for hours before trucks of police personnel went to the Chambers of Parliament to restore sanity.
According to most SLPP Members of Parliament spoken to, who were also involved in the scuffle, the manner in which the opposition acted prompted them to also defend their Members of Parliament.
“The display was ruthless and demands no compromise,” they said severally.
But the Opposition MPs also pointed out that, since the SLPP government came to power, they have breached several constitutional provisions and abused the national laws.
“They have always used the Sierra Leone Police and the military to have their way,” one opposition MP said.
They cited the election of the Speaker of Parliament as fraudulent; the forceful removal of ten opposition Members of Parliament as being unconstitutional, and among many other breaches of the Constitution, including other human rights violations.
Trucks of police stormed the Well of Parliament and violently removed MPs from both sides of the aisle from the Chambers and finally restored sanity.
The sitting however continued amidst controversy and chaos; there was a lot of police presence when the Midterm Census paper was laid on the table of Parliament.