The National Assembly will hold its first ordinary sessions this year since going on recess in December. The parliament has convened this year only to pass a constitutional amendment extending its own term.
Chairperson of the Information Committee in Parliament Thomas Wani Kundu told the UN radio service yesterday, “The national legislature is going to be opened officially on Monday the 20th 2015 with the speech which will be delivered by the President of the Republic, General Salva Kiir, that will outline the strategies and policies of the government in the coming days.”
He said the parliament will busy itself with its “oversight roles” as well as issues related to peace, noting, “The paramount issue that we are working harder to see into that it’s achieved is peace because we can’t conduct development if peace is not achieved.”
Kundu did not mention the National Security Service Bill, which last month he said has not become law and will need to be presented before the Assembly again for its consideration. His remarks contradicted the Justice Minister Paulino Wanawilla and the ruling party MP Samuel Duwar who had claimed the bill was enacted and has become operational.
He said in late March, “We expect the bill to be presented in the house for deliberation when we open in 2015… we expect the bill to be presented before the house with considerations from the Office of the President.”
Meanwhile, the civil society group Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) has issued a statement in response to Kundu’s announcement. CEPO Director Edmund Yakani said the President Salva Kiir needs to address several issues of public concern in his speech to parliament.
Among these, he said, is “Clarification on the national security legislation that has caused confusion between the executive and the parliament.” He also stressed the need for new approaches to dealing with the peace process.
“What is going on with the government human rights atrocities investigation process?” Yakani added, referring also to suppression of the media.
He further called on the government to address the economic situation in the country. “It is a high time that our president should give more public interest driven policy statement that touches all the pressuring issues above more than the political matters,” he said.
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