South Sudanese lawmakers pass welfare Bill

September 30, 2014 (JUBA) – Majority of South Sudanese lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill that caters for their welfare.

Charles Malinga, the chairperson for members’ affairs committee had presented the Parliamentary Service Commission Bill (2014), which will set up an 11- member commission headed by the speaker of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).

The bill, Malinga said, will separate management of parliamentary budget from that of the executives.

“We believe without being independent [from executives], we will not have a headway,” Malinga told MPs in his plea to have the bill urgently passed.

A reservation on the bill raised by Lakes state lawmaker, Deng Athorbei was ignored by MPs.

Athorbei wondered why the new bill made no mention of the pension fund for retired members of parliament or those who may have been terminated.

Ajang Bior Duot, a MP from Jonglei state said the bill was an asset to the ruling party (SPLM).

“How can you have only one member from the opposition party if your intention is to have better services for parliament?” asked Duot.

The SPLM-dominated house, however, passed the bill to its third and fourth reading with unanimous adaptation.

“The objective of this bill is to strengthen and sustain the national legislature and to make it more effective and efficient being a bicameral system of the government, in order to run the services and then the oversight role among others,” Thomas Kudu, head of parliamentary information committee told reporters after the sitting.

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir will have to sign the bill for it to become a law.

(ST)