Bill Watch 55/2019
Legislative Output of the Last
Parliamentary Session
24 October 2019
BILL WATCH 55/2019
[24th October 2019]
Both Houses of Parliament are Sitting This Week
Parliament Criticised for Low Output of Bills Last Session
When opening the current session of Parliament on 1st October the President
criticised Parliament’s low output of Bills during the last session:
“The slow pace in this august House – I repeat, the slow pace in this august
House – which has resulted in a low number of Bills passing through
Parliament, cannot be allowed to continue. I thus challenge Hon. Members in
their individual and collective capacities to play their part in speeding up our
parliamentary processes.”
But did the Government give Parliament a fair chance of passing even half the
legislative agenda for the session? No.
Too many Bills seem to have reached Parliament too late in the session to have
any hope of being completed.
This bulletin looks back at the last session and lists the Bills passed, the Acts of
Parliament gazetted, the Bills that lapsed at the end of the session as unfinished
business [having been introduced but not completed by the end of the session] and
Bills on the session’s legislative agenda that the Government failed to produce.
The Executive is Responsible for Getting its Bills to Parliament
The President set a legislative agenda of 30 Bills. Predictions that it was far too
optimistic were, sadly, proved right. The Government and its Ministries and
legislative drafters fell lamentably short of enabling Parliament to give effect to the
Government’s legislative ambitions.
On 25th September 2018, a week after the last session opened, the Speaker
addressed an Induction Seminar for Ministers and Deputy Ministers and gave
Ministers an ultimatum on presentation of Bills in the Legislative Agenda.
“We are going to wait for you for a month and if no Bill that has been tabled by
His Excellency is coming from a Ministry, please know that we shall summon
you to Parliament and ask you why you are not complying with the legislative
agenda that was presented to Parliament by His Excellency.”
The Speaker correctly emphasised that it is up to Ministers to ensure that Bills on
the Government’s Legislative Agenda are sent to Parliament and it is also, of
course, up to Ministers to pilot their Bills through both Houses of Parliament. Long
delays in producing Bills for Parliament and absenteeism by Ministers contributed
to a low legislative output.
Bills Passed during the Last Session
[Bills from the 2018-2019 Legislative Agenda underlined]
No Bills were passed in the period September to December 2018. The following