Jemma Nunu Kumba, the first female speaker of R-TNLA, during an exclusive interview with Eye Radio - credit | Lou Nelson/Eye Radio | Jan 28, 2022

The national legislature has clarified media reports on the role of a committee formed to come up with a standard dress code for top officials of the upper and lower houses.

This is in response to reports by some media outlets that the committee was designing a dress code for the Speaker of National Legislature, Jemma Nunu Kumba.

But, the legislature said the six-member committee has been tasked to find a suitable dress code for not only the Speaker, but also the legal advisor, the clerk, the sergeant-in-arm, as well as the house attendees.

The committee headed by Mary Naway, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister is expected to report back to parliament within two months.

It is also expected to work jointly with other stakeholders in the project.

“In all of Africa and especially in different parliaments of Africa and also of the world they always have the Speaker and other officers in the house have a different code of dressing,” John Agany, the R-TNLA spokesperson told Eye Radio.

“It was decided by the National Legislative Assembly that there should be a special dress code for the Speaker, Clerk, Legal Advisor plus other officers.

“An ad-hoc committee was formed to come up with a standard form that can be used in the National Legislative Assembly together with the Council of States.”

Regionally, and internationally, speakers of parliament and their legal advisors and clerks dress differently from other members of the parliament in their respective countries.