The Lakes State Transitional Legislative Assembly resumed its second session on Monday after a three-month recess.
The lawmakers are by law required to go on a three-month-long recess to their various constituencies.
While addressing the opening of the state assembly, Governor Rin Tueny Mabor told the legislators that the state government has worked to maintain security.
“I welcome you for the second session of Lakes State’s revitalized transitional legislative assembly. Your government has endeavored to maintain security, rule of law, maintain law and order in the state”, he said.
“We have improved farming and agricultural productivity in the state, improved the living conditions of our teachers by increasing their salary, disarmament of the civil population, and provision of the mobility to some state cabinets,” the governor said as he enumerated some progress made by his government.
Governor Tueny also mentioned some of the hurdles the state still faces.
“Limited access of learners to education due to lack of infrastructure, lack of mobility to the members of the executive and legislature including the commissioners of the counties, cattle migration from lower lands to high lands due to flood which may create misunderstanding between the farmers and cattle keepers, and fuel shortages and high prices in the market,” Rin added.
He further called on the legislators to promote peaceful coexistence among communities in the state.
The Speaker of Lakes State revitalized transitional Assembly, Agum Jacob Chagai requested all legislators and members of the executive to attend the session to deliberate on the issues raised during recess.
“We hope to focus on serious oversight functions during this session. We will request ministers from H.E. the governor to attend the assembly calls, this is for our success and improvement in our performances. We summoned some of the ministers but they were not appearing. There were also concerns raised over the lack of a sufficient budget to carry out activities in the state,” he said.
Jacob said the MPs face many challenges including a lack of allowances but that he was optimistic that such challenges will be resolved to ensure MPs function effectively.