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"id": 393068,
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"content": "This decision was made by the Commission yesterday. This is in realization that we are suffering partly because of what hon. Serem has just said. We know some of you are working from your cars, corridors and, perhaps, on a lighter note, from your houses or bedrooms. But it is not right for hon. Serem to say that Members, on Wednesday Mornings, are in their constituencies and making this an excuse not to be in the House. It makes absolute nonsense to have the rules and the calendar, which places Wednesday morning as a Sitting day between the hours of 9.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. Members are also encouraged to remember that, even though they have engagements in their constituencies, they are also able to participate in the key role of overseeing and legislating as well as representing their people here in this House. Hon. Members, let us not go the route of saying we are not here because we are at another place. I am sure those of us who may remember history, we have worked from the corridors and streets, but all that the Leader of Majority Party is saying is: Let us also have time for the House. Let us give leadership. We cannot say that we want others to perform and we want to oversee them and yet, we do not want to also show leadership. It is not a directive that Members be present, but is a request which is brought out in the Standing Orders and in the Constitution. So that we do not escalate this debate, let us put it in our diaries that on Wednesday morning at 9.00 a.m. we will be here. For the information of the House, this is going to be the order of business with regard to Statements and Requests for Statements by Members. Having noticed that there are many requests coming from Members, and all of them cannot be processed on the same day, the House Business Committee has resolved that, Wednesday mornings, the hour of 9.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. be devoted to receiving responses to requests, and another one hour be allocated on Thursday afternoons from 2.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m., or such other time that does not exceed one hour. The Chairs of Committees will be required henceforth, starting from next week, to make sure that when they are making responses, they have given them to the Clerk, to be put on the Order Paper, so that the Member making the request is aware that his or her request will be responded to on a given day, either on Wednesday morning between 9.00 a.m. and 10.00 a.m., or on Thursday afternoon between 2.30 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. This will help us to move on. We all know this system is new, and this way we will be able to minimize the instances, like yesterday where Statements are ready but the Members who had requested them were not in the Chamber. It is not fair that a Member who made a request has it dropped. Henceforth, if the request is put on the Order Paper for either Wednesday or Thursday afternoon, as I have stated, and the Member who made the request is not present, then it will be dropped. That is the decision of the House Business Committee, moving forward. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}