The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has adopted a resolution denying sitting allowance to members who dodge sessions. The resolution was reached following concerns that some members report on the first day of the sitting, sign for sitting allowance but disappear and never participate in activities of the House. MPs agreed that no member shall again be allowed to get sitting allowance without participating in activities of the Assembly. The resolution was reached during debate on the report by the committee on legal, rules and privileges on the rules of procedure of committees of the Assembly and code of conduct of members of Eala. The amendments to the code of conduct were proposed by MP Leonce Ndarubagiye (Burundi).Every EALA member has a duty to attend and participate in the sittings of the Assembly, committees and any other scheduled activities of the Assembly, subject to Rule 93 of the rules of procedure. “A member who is absent from sitting of the Assembly, a committee or any other scheduled activity of the Assembly shall forfeit the subsistence and sitting allowance requisite for such sitting,” Ndarubagiye told the Assembly shortly before his proposal was debated and approved. “MPs regular absenteeism must come to an end. Coming for two to five days and signing for sitting allowance is tantamount to stealing,” Ndarubagiye In a two-week sitting like the one being concluded in Bujumbura, an MP is allocated $4,800 (per diem), $1,440 (sitting allowance), and $200 (transport allowance) which amounts to $6,440. Legislators usually pick this money at the beginning of every session. The issue of lawmakers dodging Assembly sittings had dogged the House for some time hindering passing of bills. On Wednesday, new committee rules of procedure were established requiring MPs to adhere to a new code of conduct as the House seeks to improve its governance systems. The adoption of new committee rules of procedure and a new code of conduct will supplement the Rules of Procedure of the House adopted on January 21 in Arusha, Tanzania. The House Rules of Procedure took effect on March 17, at the beginning of the Bujumbura sitting. MP Abubakar Zein (Kenya) urged her colleagues to champion good governance in all their dealings. Zein said: “We have to be a House of honour and integrity. We also need to be guided on how to extend our conduct as members inside and outside the House. We need to pass it but duty also demands that we implement it. This should be part of our legacy.” MP Celestin Kabahizi (Rwanda) said it is ridiculous for one to get sitting allowance and disappear. “Those who take the money without justification should return it through mechanisms that will now be put in place. Such behavior is unacceptable.” A sub-committee of the Committee on Legal Procedure and Privileges met in Nairobi, Kenya in February to develop drafts of the Committees Rules of Procedure and draft Code of Conduct for members of the Assembly, which were adopted by the whole Committee in Bujumbura, on March 14. Chair of the Committee MP Peter Mathuki (Kenya) said it employed various methods in its approach, including review of global literature on codes of conducts, ethics and integrity, the Eala Rules of Procedure 2015, the EAC Treaty and Partner States’ National Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure. The Rules of Procedures take into consideration areas, including functions of chairpersons, management and power of committees and issues of quorum. The code of conduct for MPs includes personal conduct, emphasizing selflessness, integrity, objectivity and openness. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
