By Lemuella Tarawallie
The Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Sengepoh Solomon Thomas, has frowned at Members of Parliament (MPs) owing to their lack of attendance and punctuality in the House of Parliament, emphasizing that it is embarrassing to the House.
MPs’ attendance, Hon. Sengepoh Solomon, said was becoming worst by the moment, noting that by next week or in the coming weeks, he would call a meeting that would be held at Committee Room No.1 for them to have a conversation regarding attendance and punctuality.
“I think, something has to be done”, Hon. Thomas stressed, adding that absenteeism by MPs did not “just start yesterday but is being there forever or the last fifteen years. Now, there is a need to do something to correct the menace”.
Speaker Sengepoh Thomas disclosed that on Tuesday’s plenary hearing, he spent almost an hour for the House to form a quorum, stressing further that it was “an embarrassing situation for the House”. He stated that it was something he was not ready to accept or tolerate even though it had been happening, but that “it shouldn’t be a culture of the House”.
He drew the attention of MPs saying that they were elected to represent the people of Sierra Leone, adding further that even though some of them didn’t care; there was the need for them, (the lawmakers) to meet in order to arrive at certain conclusions going forward.