Parliament has resorted to a biometric clock-in machine to monitor members for absenteeism and late coming.
In her communication to Members at the start of the plenary on Wednesday, Speaker Rt Hon Anita Among informed MPs that their attendance was going to be monitored and that biometric clock-in was now a requirement prior to accessing the Chamber.
“This business of absenteeism must stop. When performance is being rated, you begin complaining that you were not given time to speak and yet you were not in the House. How do I pick someone who is not in the House?” Among asked.
“As a Legislature, we owe the public a duty of responsibility and this starts with time keeping. The late Jacob Oulanyah told me the first attribute I need to have is timekeeping and that I will never disappoint him on that,” she said.
According to Article (83) of the Constitution, a Member of Parliament may lose his or her seat if he or she is absent from 15 sittings without permission of the Speaker.
Parliamentary Commissioner, Hon. Solomon Silwany, also noted that ministers were always absent with only two or three present.
“We should move a motion so that we have at least three-quarters of the ministers that we have and they need to appear here on time so they come in and listen in to issues that affect our constituents,” Silwany said.
The Third Deputy Premier and Minister without Portfolio, Hon. Rukia Nakadama, in response, pledged to rally the cabinet to attend the plenary going forward.
