President George Manneh Weah has told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that 2019 will be a very critical year in terms of national objective of consolidation of the peace and taking Liberians from poverty.His comment came Monday, 14 January at the opening of the Second Session of the 54th Legislature in Monrovia.
Mr. Weah recalls that during the launch of the national development plan, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD), he asked for the collective effort and cooperation of all Liberians, particularly from those in leadership so that together as a people they can transform Liberia into a modern nation.
He reminds lawmakers here that they were elected by the people to serve and they must therefore work together to ensure that they deliver to their expectations in all areas such as education, health, infrastructure, peace and security and agriculture.
He has commended the lawmakers for the excellent work that they completed during the First Session of Legislature last year.For his part, House Speaker Bhofal Chambers told members of the House of Representatives that as the year 2019 endures, it is his hope that legislators brace themselves for the challenges ahead.
He says their constituents which placed huge public trust in them expect a lot from them in their desire to have good laws.He urges that they exercise their functions to the best of their abilities in their best interest so that the plans and promises intended for them come to fruition.
Speaker Chambers recalls that during the 2018 Session of the 54th Legislature, the House of Representatives recorded 57 regular sittings, 43 executive sittings, 6 special sittings and 15 extraordinary sittings, totaling 121 sittings.According to him, they were able to pass 26 bills and 8 resolutions in the best interest of the Liberian people during the year 2018.
Amongst those bills and resolutions acted upon, he says nine originated from the House of Representatives, five bills were received from the Liberian Senate and concurred with; 12 bills were passed out of 17 bills originating from the Executive and eight Legislative resolutions were acted on.
Speaker Chambers says in 2018, the House of Representatives was presented with some hard facts on a sitting Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, which detailed abuse of office and several violations of the principles upon which the laws of the land are based.
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Having exhaustively deliberated on the matter surrounding the Associate Justice, Kabineh M. Ja’neh, he says the House of Representatives proceeded to pass an Impeachment Bill by a majority vote and forwarded it to the Liberian Senate for trial.He says the Legislature will ensure that harmony and coordination with the other branches of government will be a priority.
He adds that it will be their duty to fully support the Pro-Poor Agenda under the leadership of President Weah and they will always be prepared to offer suggestions for alternative programs, policies through dialogue or enact laws so that the best interest of the people is served.
By Bridgett Milton–Edited by Winston W. Parley
