Profile Photo: Newly appointed members of the National parliament and Council of States take oath on Monday, August 2, 2021 at Freedom Hall in Juba. Credit| George Tandele/Eye Radio

The designate-chairperson of the information committee at the national parliament has described the first 100 days of the august house as ineffective.
The peace parliament was reconstituted in May.

The revitalized peace agreement requires expansion and reconstitution of the national legislature to include members of opposition parties signatories to the 2018 deal.

The legislature is expected to enact laws that will assist the transitional processes, including reforms spelled out in the peace agreement.

The two houses are also expected to provide oversight and ensure the full implementation of the peace agreement and the constitution.

Since its reconstitution, the parliament failed to discuss and approve the country’s fiscal year budget after two years of no national budget.

Other pending tasks to be approved by the august house include security bills and the Constitutional Amendment Bill.

Paul Yoane Bonju is the designate-chairperson of information committee at the national parliament.

He says the assembly has not yet formed parliamentary standing committees due to deadlock of parties on the allocation and distribution of seats.

“Honestly the work of the parliament since it inauguration is not in a way you can term it as effective because the standing specialized committee has not been formed. Globally any assembly operate through standing specialized committee,” Paul told Eye Radio on Thursday.

“The agreed number of the committee has been sent back to the political parties who are signatory of the peace deal for them to allocate the chairperson and the deputy chairperson to the respective standing specialized committees.

When asked about the first 100 days, Paul Yoane stated that after the inauguration of the parliament the house went into two very important select committees.

“The first select committee dealt with the amendment of conduct of business of the National Legislative Assembly that the Revitalized TNLA, and the second committee went with the amendment of conduct of business of the Transitional National Legislature but in two houses,” the designate-chairperson of the information committee said.

“The first business was actually the speech of His Excellency the president of the Republic that was duly discussed.

“The house actually ended up with a number of resolutions to be sent back to His Excellency, the President, as a result of the speech that he delivered on the 30th of August 2021.”