By Bill W. Cooper
The Plenary of Liberian Senate yesterday, August 22, 2023, commenced a two week special session to deliberate on issues of National concern, in fulfillment of Article 32(b) of the 1986 Constitution.
Article 32(b) states, “the President shall, on his own initiative or upon receipt of a certificate signed by at least one-fourth of the total membership of each House and by proclamation, extend a regular session of the Legislature beyond the date for adjournment, or call a special or extraordinary session of that body to discuss or act upon matters of national emergency and concern.”
And in fulfillment of said provision by the Constitution, the President, recently, issued a proclamation calling on that body to extend its regular session for a period of weeks, beginning August 22 to September 5, 2023, aimed to discuss or act on matters of national emergency.
Laying out the agenda for the two week sitting, Senate Pro-tempore, Albert Chie, named several instruments, which include the continuation of the debate on the amended Public Health Law, the issues of elections, the attraction of Public Sector investment, continuation of the confirmation process for nominated Commissioners of the Liberia Anti- Corruption Commissioners, amongst others, to be considered.
The Grand Kru County Senator disclosed that the Plenary will prioritize within the two weeks, the continuation of the debate on the amended public Health Law which contains many contemporary issues important to health care delivery in Liberia, other than the issue of abortion contained in the Bill.
He asserted, “Most especially challenges experienced and knowledge gained from the EBOLA outbreak and the COVID 19 pandemic that hit our beloved country so dearly and drastically affected our economic growth.”
According to him, the Bill also contains issues on bio-security and bio-safety, improvement on occupational health, provision on foods and other products for infants and young children, new chapter on traditional alternative medicines, new provision for emergency treatment, and many others.
This, he clarified further, that the bill came to the Senate from the House of Representatives for concurrence, wherein the Senate committee on Health has had several consultations and public hearings but have not arrived at a final version for the final approval of the Senate Plenary.
“Fellow citizens, we are appalled by the interference in our Legislative process and condemn the lies which are being propagated by people who have little or no understanding of the various issues contained in the proposed new Public Health Law and the transparent manner in which the debate has been proceeding at the Liberian Senate,” Pro-Temp Chie stressed.
Meanwhile, the Pro-Temp further revealed that the National Elections Commission (NEC) will be cited to provide information on its total preparedness for the conduct of the October 10, 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections.
He further named the issue of security in elections, as well as ratification of an amended Mineral Development Agreement, including the continuation of the confirmation process for nominated Commissioners of the LACC, including briefing from the Public Works Ministry on the mandate given by the Senate to have the two primary south-eastern road corridors pliable within 30 days, and the passage of free tuition, as other key areas of concern for the Senate, during the two week deliberation.
In a related development, the Senate has also cited Public Works Minister, Ruth Coker-Collins, and her two Deputies, Joseph Todd, Deputy for Administration, and Amos Barclay, Deputy for Technical Service, as well as Kaustella Sarsia, Assistant Minister for Operations, to appear before the Committee of the whole on tomorrow, Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 1:00 P.M.
