Parliament lays down the law on attendance under Covid-19

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MAMELLO SEBATANE

Maseru – A ruling has been made at the National Assembly today that members of parliament, as of Tuesday, February 16, 2021 there will be no traditional sitting of the House as part of efforts to check the spread of Covid-19.

According to the ruling, all parliament sittings will be virtual or hybrid representative sittings, depending on the circumstances. All standing orders will apply as in conventional sittings and the Clerk will provide guidelines for conducting the sitting. However, attendance by the media and the public will be restricted.

In a hybrid representative sitting, at least 30 members will be selected daily or weekly by party leaders taking into account the proportionality and diversity of political parties represented in Parliament, as well as gender balance. Among the 30 members selected, there will be a quota for cabinet ministers to ensure that Parliament’s business is not compromised.

The voting in a hybrid sitting will only be done by those members physical sitting and motions and amendments for virtual and hybrid representative sitting will be tabled through electronic mail.

Members who will not be attending the physical sitting will join virtually through a link that will be provided and they will be registered upon attendance and will be entitled to a sitting allowance. Members failing to login due to technical problems will be considered absent.

All committee meetings will be held virtually.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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