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Parliamentary sitting calendars for 2012 - Bill Watch 18/2012
Veritas
May 13, 2012
Both
Houses of Parliament are adjourned until Tuesday 15th May
Parliamentary
Sitting Calendars for 2012
Before the election
in 2008 of the present Parliament,
the seventh since Independence, annual sitting calendars were produced
at the beginning of every year and by and large followed. This meant
that sittings of the House of Assembly and the Senate were reasonably
predictable and Parliamentarians and Parliamentary officials, Government
Ministries and departments promoting Bills, could prepare well ahead
to ensure fulfilment of Parliamentary commitments, and stakeholders
and interested members of the public would know when to do their
lobbying and make their submissions on Bills.
Sitting calendars
have not been available for this Parliament since 2008. For the
first few months Parliamentary business was for all practical purposes
out of action pending negotiations for the GPA
and the formation thereafter of the Inclusive
Government. Even after the swearing-in of the Inclusive Government
in February 2009, no sitting calendar was produced for that year
or for the years 2010 and 2011.
This year, however,
there has been a welcome return to the practice of having sitting
calendars. It is hoped that the calendars’ sitting dates will
be observed as far as possible.
New
Sitting Calendars
[Note: The calendars
do not stipulate when House of Assembly Portfolio Committees and
Senate Thematic Committees will sit. These committees meet even
in weeks when their parent Houses are not sitting – but not
in school holidays.]
Sittings
so Far in 2012
January No sittings
– school holidays and public holidays
February and
March
House
28th and 29th
February, 13th, 14th, 15th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th and 28th 29th
March
Senate
28th and 29th
February, 1st, 13th, 14th, 15th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th and
29th March
April No sittings
– school holidays and public holidays
Forthcoming
Sittings: May to December
May
House 15th,
16th and 17th May [3 days]
Senate 15th,
16th and 17th May [3 days]
June
House 5th, 6th,
7th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 19th, 20th and 21st June [9 days]
Senate 12th,
13th, 14th, 19th, 20th and 21st June [6 days]
July
House 17th July
[Opening of Fifth Session] [1 day]
Senate 17th
July [Opening of Fifth Session] [1 day]
August
House No sittings
– school holidays and public holidays
Senate No sittings
– school holidays and public holidays
Note: The Liaison
and Coordination Committee annual retreat will take place on 29th,
30th and 31st August. This is a joint committee with members from
both Houses.
September
House 18th,
19th, 20th, 25th, 26th and 27th September [6 days]
Senate 18th,
19th, 20th, 25th, 26th and 27th September [6 days]
October
House 2nd, 3rd,
4th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th October [9 days]
Senate 9th,
10th, 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th October [6 days]
Note: The Pre-Budget
Seminar for all MPs and Senators will take place on 24th, 25th and
26th October.
November
House 8th November
– Budget Day; then 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th and 29th November
[7 days]
Senate 8th November
– Budget Day; then 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th and 29th November
[7 days]
December
House No sittings
– school holidays and public holidays
Senate No sittings
– school holidays and public holidays.
Total
Number of Scheduled Sittings for the Year
House 47
Senate 41
But it must
be recognised that the calendars are not set in stone. If necessary,
the House of Assembly and the Senate may adjourn on a date earlier
than scheduled if there is insufficient work; or continue sitting
to complete work, even if the calendar calls for adjournment; or,
as permitted by Standing Orders, resume sitting during a scheduled
adjournment if the public interest calls for an early sitting.
Who
Decides the Number of Sittings?
The calendars
for the House of Assembly and the Senate were drawn up by the Business
of the House Committee and the Business of the Senate Committee,
respectively. These are Standing Committees, chaired in each case
of the presiding officer concerned [Speaker, Senate President] plus
the leader of Government business, the leader of the Opposition
[where there is an Opposition] and the party chief whips or their
deputies.
The formulation
of the calendars is guided by a simple basic policy: no sittings
are scheduled during school holidays, or in weeks which coincide
with a public holiday or national event. The expense associated
with plenary sittings has also to be taken into consideration.
Why
so Few Sittings?
There have been
relatively few plenary sittings in the current Parliament. Previous
Parliaments often had about 90 plenary sittings in a year. This
Parliament has been criticised not only because it sits for very
few days in a year but also for the brevity of some of the sittings.
True, the Inclusive Government has not introduced many Bills, but
even if there is not a busy legislative agenda, it would have been
expected that more time would be spent on raising and debating issues
of national and constituency interest. There are of course budgetary
limitations to the number of sittings. Like any other State institution
Parliament should keep within its approved budget for the financial
year [January to December]. But, like any institution in an economically
constrained country, Parliament must plan its business to be cost-effective
and not have the Houses meeting for just a few minutes, which is
wasting taxpayers’ money.
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