LIBERIA: IREED BI-Annual Legislative Report 2021

By GNNLiberia On Jan 20, 2022 436

This bi-annual report of IREDD’s Legislative Monitoring under the theme: “Lawmaker Watch”, explains monitoring activities at the legislature over the past six months (January – June, 2021. Essentially, the report covers key monitoring activities relating to Legislative functions (Oversight, Representation and Lawmaking) as well as institutional governance and the interplay of politics and interests at the Legislature.

Oversight-Committees’ activities in the Liberian legislature remain grossly opaque, weak organizationally and allow personal political and economic interest to supersede duty and responsibility to country. This is manifested in the selective manner in which bills are given attention and the speed at which certain bills are acted on compared to others. Besides, most activities of committees are still being conducted in secrecy or lack of adequate information to allow public access. A total of 51 Committees reports were recorded by IREDD at the Liberian Senate while 27 Committees reports were also recorded at the House of Representatives respectively.

A total of fifty-six (56) communications were recorded at the Liberian Senate while the total of one hundred, twenty-three communications were also recorded at the House of Representatives.

Lawmaking-a total of 48 bills were recorded in committee room at the Liberian Senate while a total of 88 bills were also recorded in committee room at the House of Representatives. Additionally, a total of seven Legislations were passed at the Liberian Senate and a total of thirteen bills were also passed at the House of Representatives.

Representation – A total of two thousand fifty (2050) present times were obtained at the House of Representatives and eight hundred ninety-two absent times were also obtained at the House of Representatives. Additionally, one hundred sixty-nine distant times were obtained at the House of Representatives and ten excuse times were obtained at the House of Representatives. Furthermore, a total of fifty-five sick times were obtained at the House of Representatives and a total of forty-seven plenary sessions were held during the period.

A total of nine hundred six present times were recorded at the Liberian Senate, seventy-three absences were recorded while a total of sixty-nine distant times were also obtained at the Liberian Senate, forty excuse times were obtained at the Liberian Senate, a total of twenty-nine sick times were obtained at the Liberian senate and finally the Liberian Senate held the total of forty six plenary sessions.

5% of Representatives obtained A’ in plenary attendance while 13% of

Representatives obtained F in plenary attendance. Similarly, 28% of

Senators obtained A’ in plenary attendance while 10% obtained D’ in plenary attendance at the Liberian Senate. The monitoring report also highlights key petitions that originated from the Public and its further revealed critical issues relating to accountability and transparency at the Legislature.

During the period, one Legislator from Margibi County, Hon. Ivar K. Jones of District 2, extended an invitation to IREDD to participate in his annual report to his constituents, an invitation which was honored by IREDD.

On December 8, 2020, a midterm election of fifteen Senators was held, of which 90% of those elected were new commons. The elections were held following intense debate on the constitutionality of the postponement from October to December something triggered by the chilling effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The results were released amid reports of fraud which were adjudicated through Supreme Court ruling; up to date, one of the elected Candidates Mr. Brownnie K. Samukai result has been upheld by the Supreme Court due to his involvement in corruption during his role as Minister of the Ministry of National Defense of the former President Ellen Johnson Sir leaf’s regime.

BACKGROUND

Liberian has made great strides in creating a political and social environment conducive to democracy in recent years, but there is still much to be done. Although the Constitution of Liberia and the Access to Information Act of 2009 ensure the right of access to information and protect citizens’ right to hold their government accountable, most Liberians still find it difficult to follow the activities of government. With 45% of the population illiterate, Liberia faces exclusive challenges in maintaining an informed citizenry. In order to effectively hold their leaders answerable, all Liberians (rural and urban, literate and illiterate) must know who their Representatives are and how well they have performed. They must know what decisions have been made on their behalf and how their tax money was spent. The Legislative monitoring provides critical legislative information, thereby strengthening citizens to monitor their elected representatives and to make informed choices. The Scorecard is distinctive in that it offers objective, reliable, and transparent measures of how Members of Legislature perform in plenary sittings and Legislative committees, as well as in their constituencies. By disseminating accurate, objective, and comprehensive information about the Performance of each of Legislators, the Institute for research & Democratic development hopes to help further greater lucidity and ultimately create democratic accountability in Liberia.

The Performance Scorecard has been improved based on the useful feedback we received from Legislators and the public over the previous years. We have advanced the Scorecard strategies, diversified the data collected, added information on institutional governance, political parties, and other new measures, and eliminated extraneous measures. The grades contained herein do not reflect a biased agenda and no personal politics have swayed the scores assigned to individual Legislators Indeed, the scores are based on publicly available data collected systematically over the course of the quarter and can be checked and replicated by any individual wishing to do so. The Legislative Performance Scorecard focuses on three arenas in which Legislators perform their duties as advocates for the interests of their constituents and the country:

METHODOLOGY

The data collection follows previous monitoring approaches that entailed assigning four Monitors at the Legislature with two assigned at each Chamber, the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate. IREDD`s Monitors attended regular session with Legislators on Tuesdays and Thursdays and follow ups with clerical staffers of the offices of the Chief Clerk and the Secretary of the Liberian Senate to collect additional information relating to the monitoring. Prior to the resumption of the 2021 monitoring, IREDD held a 2- day indicators review workshop that brought together difference stakeholders from Civil society organizations, Legislative clerical staffs, and Media including Members of the Legislature to help review or revamp indicators of the Legislative score card. IREDD Legislative Team was able to incorporate key points accepted during the review which have helped improve the quality and effectiveness of the monitoring over the past months. Each IREDD Monitor has a daily data capture form and a voice recorder during plenary sessions.

The average score provides an easy way to combine the scores on the different sub-components. In essence, each component carries equal weight because this is the only way to combine the sub-components, we encourage constituents and readers to examine each part of the aggregate score when they assess the performance of their Legislator. The percentage scores should be interpreted as follows if a Legislator has a score of 20 for plenary attendance; divide the score by the total sitting of 46 for the Senate and 47 for the House of Representatives and multiple it by 100. Grade System, from 50-59 =F 60-69 =D 70-79 =C 80-89 B 90-100 A.

DATA LIMITATION

During the period, the monitoring report highlights activities held at the Capitol Building. However, IREDD attended one constituency meeting based on invitation received from Hon. Ivan K. Jones of Margibi County. IREDD does not have the required resources to monitor seventy-three (73) electoral districts in country to report happenings. This is due to limited financial support and the restriction of funding from partners. At this point, IREDD does not have any funding partner now for the project. Obtaining votes and linking lawmakers as individuals to decisions reached is almost impossible due to the absence of voting machines. It is very difficult for the monitor to count raised hands and determine who voted for or against certain actions. As a result votes at the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate were not recorded during this monitoring period due to absent of voting machines.

Weak oversight continues to promote low productivity and corruption within government. Legislative committees, working effectively is the remedy to this situation. However, committees’ ineffectiveness continues to be manifested in overstay or delay of issues in committee rooms and weak oversight over the executive branch. The reports that come out of committee rooms are feebly maintained, affecting their circulation for public consumption. Ministries and Agencies have not been submitting their quarterly report on budgetary allocations received as required by the budget law. Lawmakers placed on networks (local or international) rarely report to Plenary about the agenda and activities of these networks. With these, the report cannot capture all happenings or issues raised during the monitoring period in totality.

MONITORING FINDINGS
PLENARY SESSIONS

A total of 47 plenary sessions were recorded at the House of Representatives which comprises of 44 regular and 3 special plenary sessions. Meanwhile at the Liberian Senate, a total of 46 plenary sessions were recorded. Consisting of 44 regular and 2 special plenary sessions.

OVERSIGHT

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Legislative work cannot be carried out in the absence of committees. Vast majority of the work done at the legislature is done in committee rooms. This allows for detail examination of issues over a given period by individual lawmakers considered to have acquired the expertise on particular matters.

There were 27 committee reports recorded at the House of Representatives and 51 Committees reports at the Liberian Senate. These reports highlighted recommendations on passage of bills into law, ratification of treaties and protocols, investigation into complaints, reports and other legislative related matters. Notable of the committee reports during the period are:

Plenary of the Lower House through its Joint Committee on Lands, Mines, Energy, Natural Resources and Environment and Foreign Affairs approved the agreement between Liberia and Guinea that allows the transport of iron ore through the Port of Buchanan. The agreement will boost trade and economic activities between the countries as it allows for public and private use of the railway. By this livelihood activities will be fostered.
The Joint Committees on Education & Public Administration and Ways, Means, Finance & Development Planning report on a bill “An Act to create a Special Education Fund to Support and Sustain the Tuition-Free Scheme for the University of Liberia, all Public Universities and Colleges program and the Free West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) fees for Ninth and Twelfth Graders in Liberia”, or the “Weah Education Fund” (WEF). The committee amongst other recommendations called for the bill to be named the National Equity and Enhancement Fund (NEEEF) since it will actually be funded by the state. The committee with advice from the Ministry of Education recommends that when enacted, the bill be for deserving performing with a required GPA with timeframe attached for said beneficiaries to graduate from college. Meanwhile, students below the GPA 2.00 be dropped from the package. These measures will promote the program’s effectiveness and curtail abuse. The committee has also said that the bill be funded from percentages of proceeds from the Liberia maritime Program as well as surcharge on tobacco products and alcoholic beverage
The Committee on Banking and Currency has recommended the printing of a new family of bank notes to replace the current Bank notes. This was the outcome of series of consultations with stakeholders and experts across financial and academic institutions. Following the request for approval of the Legislature to print new Families of bank notes by the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) in order to mitigate the current scarcity of the Liberian Dollars on the market. The House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate constituted a conference committee to harmonize outstanding issues contained in their respective resolutions. The recommendations from the conference Committee have been endorsed by the Plenary of the House Representatives and the Liberian Senate with Legislature cautioning the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) to put in place precautionary measures to guide against duplication and internal control systems.

The House’s joint committee on Autonomous Commissions and Agencies; Ways, Means Finance and Budget, in response to the propose 91.9M budget submitted from the National Elections Commission (NEC) for the conduct of the 2023 General Elections has call for further consultation aimed at making adjustments to the amount. Amongst other things, the hearing highlighted the current economic condition of the country and the challenges it poses to raising revenue. The committee recommended that the NEC Board of Commissioners readjust the budget and do a segment breakdown for legislative consideration. Meanwhile, the NEC has outlined that the budget is realistic as it intends to conduct a biometric voter registration exercise as well as establish 14 additional magisterial offices across the country. These developments require funding for logistics, technical experts, training, equipment, materials, staff and so forth.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications written by individual lawmakers focused on introduction/submission of bills, asking plenary to invite Government officials on a specific issue of public interest and to provide further explanations.

Some of the communications also concentrated on Submission of petitions and letters asking for excuse from Plenary and legislative activities amongst others. The President’s communications basically contain the submission of Acts to be enacted into law and ratification of treaties, protocols and agreements. Other private citizens and organizations also sent communications to the legislature, bringing to the attention of that body matters affecting either individuals, communities or the nation in general.

A total of 16 Senators wrote Communications to plenary at the Liberian Senate. Those Senators include; Sen. Jonathan L. Kaipay, LP of Grand Bassa County wrote the highest communication and was followed by Sen. Varney Sherman, UP of Grand Cape Mount County. Sen. Jonathan L. Kaipay wrote 7 while Varney Sherman wrote 5 communications respectively. On the contrary, Twelve Senators did not write any communication up to the compilation of this report.

A total of 38 Representatives wrote communications at the House of Representatives. Hon. Richard N. Koon, UP, of Montserrado County wrote the highest communications and was followed by Hon. Dorwohn T. Gleekia. Hon. Koon wrote 6 while Hon. Gleekia wrote 5.

AMONG THE COMMUNICATIONS, IREDD TAKES INTO ACCOUNT KEY COMMUNICATIONS OF PUBLIC INTEREST THAT INCLUDE;

One communication that aroused serious concern was from a resident of Rivercess County seeking plenary intervention in getting teachers in classes. The case of teacher’s shortage in the classroom in Rivercess County has become a national concern. The communication sparked out interest of some lawmakers asking plenary to invite the Ministry of Education on the subject. It was agreed that the matter calls for attention; that any intervention be informed by a clear hearing from authorities at the Ministry of Education.
COMMUNICATION FROM THE PRESIDENT requesting the Legislature for appropriation in the 2021 Special Budget $2M to combat covid-19. Such communication drowned the attention of many Lawmakers who question the intent of the communication by saying they are afraid whether the fund will be used for the intended purpose. Additionally, the request did not only sparked tension among Lawmakers about expenditure mechanism but also garnered mixed public reactions with many questioning its genuine intent from the background that the initial $25M stimulus package which among other things was meant to provide food for the vulnerable and pay utility bills for some households was poorly managed, an assertion which led to the invite of the National Steering Committee on Food distribution to appear before the plenary at the Liberian Senate to provide explanation on the food distribution. The Committee, however, blamed its poor performance to the bad roads condition in the country during the rainy season.
The House of Representatives’ Plenary invited some heads of government agencies to provide in-depth explanation relating to issues of service delivery. Those Agencies include; A) Civil Service Agency (CSA), B) National Identification Registry (NIR), C) Ministry of Education, D) Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) E) the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) and the Internal Audit Agency (IAA). Those Agencies appeared before plenary on April 24, 2021. Their appearances were triggered by circumstances surrounding the entire process of retirement. Addressing plenary, the Civil Service Agency Director General stated that the people were retired because they met the retirement requirement relating to age 60; 25years of service including health complications. According to the Director General, the delay in benefits processing is due to the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation slow and inaccurate system relative to data processing. Rest of the Agencies blamed NASCOR.
Senator Nyonblee K. Lawrence of Grant Bassa County, Communication Bringing to the attention of Plenary on the expiration date between Liberia electricity Corporation and ESBI Engineering and facility Management. The said Communication question the Legitimacy of the Liberia Electricity Corporation’s Management Service Contract renewed by the Board of Directors in the absent of Legislative approval. She stated in the Communication that the Management Service Contracts which should be limited to a period of one year according to Law, was issued for up to twenty-five years.
Senator Jonathan L. Kaipay of Grand Bassa County

Communication asking plenary to intervene in a situation relating to the salaries and benefits of local Commissioners within the fifty counties of Liberia. The reduction of the Commissioners salaries which continue to undermine their incomes. According to him, the commissioners are facing serious challenges in receiving their balance money.

The Plenary of the Liberian Senate invited the internal Affairs minister and the Minister of Finance based the Communication made to plenary by Senator J. Gbleh Bo Brown of Maryland County on issues relating to closure of all social development funds accounts to the Central Bank (CBL). The Ministers stated that they were told by some Senators to close the accounts and avoid the misuse of the County Social development Funds.
CONFIRMATION PROCEEDINGS:

The Liberian Senate received the total of twenty-seven Presidential Nominees. Of those Nominees, 4 were confirmed by the Liberian Senate and 22 are pending for confirmation. On the other hand, the Liberian President withdrawn one Nominee on ground that the nominee was allegedly accused that he was involved with Corruption in public service.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

A total of 17 public hearings were held at the House of Representatives. All of the House Public hearings were held in plenary sessions. The public hearings brought together key stakeholders from the public and the Legislature.

POLITICAL PARTIES CAUCUSES

IREDD has made tremendous effort in engaging political parries Representatives in order to ascertain information on whether they hold regular caucuses’ meetings and feedback on their activities at the Legislature to their various political parties. Unfortunately, political parties do not have functional and well structure Caucuses at the Legislature. Efforts were made to obtain Caucus meetings’ minutes but no political party at the Legislature could provide such information to us. Political Parties Representatives and Senators at the Legislature have fragmented views during plenary deliberations. Throughout the period, Political parties Caucus or Caucuses were not seem making collective decisions neither raising issues based on their Party manifesto or interest. Such an act makes Citizens to create doubt on whether people who are elected on political party’s ticket as Representatives and Senators were passionate Partisans of the political parties or they wanted to use the political parties to ascent to such public office. These issues do not just create doubts on the mind of the Citizenry but also undermine functional democracy and good governance.

BUDGET PERFORMANCE REPORT

Budget performance reports from Line Ministries and Agencies at the Legislature remains a serious ghost. IREDD wonders whether line ministries and Agencies are presenting their budget performance reports. Perhaps, the relevant committees of the Legislature are making limited effort to request those reports from these Line Ministries and Agencies that are not regularly reporting. Legislature not applying appropriate actions to ensure compliance.

A Total of four budget performance reports were obtained at the Liberian Legislature from various Line Ministries and Agencies of the Government. The Reports were obtained from offices of the Chief Clerk and the Secretariat of the Liberian Senate. IREDD obtained two Agencies of the government budget performance report during the reporting period and these reports were submitted during the special proposed budget for the fiscal month of July to December 2021. The ministry of Transport Budget performance report covered the month of January to June (Fiscal year 2020-2021) while the National Police Budget performance report covered fiscal year 2020. IREDD has made tremendous effort to obtain the rest of the Agencies budget performance reports but was unable to obtain none. The Budget law and the Constitution of Liberia state that Line Ministries and Agencies should submit quarterly and annual budget performance Report to the Liberian Legislature, Sadly, Line Ministries and Agencies has been grossly violating the budget law and constitution.

LAWMAKING

Article 34 of the 1986 Liberian Constitution vests the power to make laws for the proper democratic governance of our country in the hands of the members of the legislature. It is by this legislative function laws, rules and regulations for the governance of our country are made, contracts bidding the Republic of Liberia and other sovereign nations are ratified and international treaties and protocols are domesticated. The effective functioning of government functionaries is greatly informed by the types of laws or legal framework of such government.

BILLS IN COMMITTEE ROOM The Chart above indicates that there are more Legislations in committee rooms at the House of Representatives. A total of eighty-eight (88) Bills were recorded in committee room up to the compilation of this report while a total of 49 Bills in committee room at the Liberia Senate Respectively.

BILLS PASSED

Throughout the six months, the House of Representatives passed thirteen Legislations pending the Liberian Senate Concurrence while the Liberian Senate passed seven Legislations pending the House of Representatives Concurrence. To the effect, it is clearly seemed that the Legislature was not-robust in the passage of more Legislations taking into account of the huge number of bills still pending in committee rooms. A total of four Senate Bills were concurred with by the House of Representatives, while the Liberian Senate concurred with the total of three bills from the House of Representatives.

MANY OF THE BILLS PASSED AT THE LEGISLATURE CAME FROM THE OFFICE OF THE LIBERIAN PRESIDENT (H.E. GEORGE MANNEH WEAH). SOME OF THE

BILLS PASSED INCLUDE;

An Act to approve the Supplemental Budget for the Fiscal period beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2021 providing for the expenditure of the government of the Republic of Liberia
The General Auditing Commission act of 2014 regulations of the Republic of Liberia
An Act to amend chapter 9, financing education of the New Education Reform Act of 2011, title 10, Liberia Revised Code to provide for section 9.2 and all other subsections for the establishment of Rural Teachers Incentive Fund
An Act to create a special education fund to support and sustain the tuition-free scheme for the University of Liberia and all public universities and colleges programs and the free WASSCE fees for ninth and twelfth graders in Liberia
A resolution #001/2021 adopted by two third members of the total membership of the House of Representatives and Senate of the Legislature of the Republic of Liberia; authorizing the Central Bank of Liberia to print new family of Liberian dollar currency in the value and terms stated herein:
REPRESENTATION PLENARY ATTENDANCE

A total of two thousand fifty (2050) present times was recorded at the

House of Representative while a total of nine hundred six present times

The chart above provides analysis of Lawmakers who obtained the highest and lowest in plenary attendance at the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate. A total of 4 or 5% of the Representatives obtained A’ in plenary attendance while 9 or 13% of Representatives obtained F in plenary attendance. Similarly, 8 or 28% of the Senators obtained A’ in plenary attendance while 3 or 10% obtained D’ in plenary attendance.

THE HIGHEST PLENARY ATTENDANCE AT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Name	County	Political Party	Grade
Hon. Larry Younquoi	Nimba County	UP	A
Hon. Sampson D Wiah	Sinoe County	CDC	A
Hon. Ivar K. Jones	Margibi County	IND	A

LOWEST PLENARY ATTENDANCE AT THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES

Name	County	Political Party	Grade
Hon. Lawrence Morris	Montserrado County	IND	F
Hon. Rustolyn S. Dennis	Montserrado County	LTP	F
Hon. Samuel Regen Enders	Montserrado	IND	F
Hon. Yekeh Y. kolubah	Montserrado County	IND	F
Hon. Abu B. Kamara	Montserrado County	CDC	F
Hon. Corneh, III, Abraham V.	Montserrado County	CDC	F
Hon. Mary M. Karwor	Grand Bassa County	CDC	F
Hon. Nathanial N. Bahway Sr.	Grand Kru	LINU	F
Hon. Alex Chersia Grant	Grand Gedeh County	CDC	F

SENATORS THAT OBTAINED THE HIGHEST PRESENT TIMES.

Name	County	Political Party	Grade
Sen. Prince K. Moye	Bong County	UP	A+
Sen. J. Emmanuel Nuquay	Margibi County	PUP	A
Sen. Augustine S. Chea	Sinoe County	UP	A
Sen. Jonathan Boy-charles Sogbie	Rivergee County	UP	A
Sen. Numene T. H. Bartekwa	Grand Kru County	IND	A
Sen. Botoe Kanneh	Gbarpolu County	IND	A
Sen. James P. Biney	MaryLand County	CDC	A

SENATORS THAT OBTAINED THE LOWEST IN PLENARY ATTENDANCE

Name	County	Political Party	Grade
Sen. Janathan Kaipay	Grand Bassa County	LP	D
Sen. Stephen J. H. Zargo	Lofa County	LP	D
Sen. A. Marshall Dennis	Grand Gedeh	CDC	D
Sen. Edwin Melvin Snowe	Bomi County	IND	D

ABSENT TIMES

The House of Representatives obtained the total of eight hundred and ninety-two absent times during the period. Hon. Clarence G. Garr obtained the highest absent times 29. Other include Hon. Rustonlyn S. Dennis IND Montserrado County, 26 absent times and Hon. Munah Bishop Johnson 27 absent times.

At the Liberian Senate, a total of seventy three absent times was obtained. Sen. Prince Y. Johnson obtained the highest of 12 absent times.

DISTANT

A total of one hundred sixty-nine distant times was obtained at the House of Representatives with Hon. Nathaniel Bahway of Grand Kru County obtaining the highest of 11 distant times. At the Liberian Senate, a total of sixty nine distant times were obtained. Sen. Stephen Zargo LP, Lofa County obtained the highest distant times of 14 and followed by Sen.

Jonathan Kaipay of Grand Bassa County obtained 13 distant times.

EXCUSE

A Lawmaker is considered excused when he or she leaves session for official plenary function. This reporting period recorded a total of forty excuse times at the Liberian Senate. Sen. Nyonblee K. Lawrence LP, Grand Bassa County and Sen. Marshall Dennis, CDC of Grand Gedeh County Obtained the highest excuse times, both were excused 10 times. At the House of Representatives, a total of 10 excuse times were obtained with Hon. Lawrence Morris obtaining the highest of 5 excuse times.

SICK

A total of twenty-nine Sick times was obtained at the Liberian Senate. Sen. Francis PAYE, NDC of Rivercess County obtained the highest times. He was pronounced sick twenty-two times up to the compilation of this report.

At the House of Representatives, a total of fifty-five sick times were obtained. Hon. Hans Barchue IND, Grand Bassa County obtained the highest sick times, he was pronounced Sick 38 times and was followed by Hon. Alexander Poure ALP, Rivergee County, also obtained 11 sick times.

PARTICIPATION

Participation in plenary debate is one of the most crucial and important functions of a Lawmaker. This is by such means legislators are given the opportunity to voice out their personal and/or constituency opinion on critical national issues in open plenary debate. This also allows the pubic, especially legislative monitoring bodies, the avenue to evaluate the performance of legislators as to who says what, how and why. Assessment of the performance of individual legislator relative to the number of times he or she participates in open plenary debate is informed and guided by standing rules of the Senate and House of Representatives which give every legislator an equal opportunity to speak on each and every agenda item.

PLENARY DEBATE

During this reporting period, there were a total of one thousand, six hundred, six (1606) participation times recorded at the Senate and five hundred eighty one (581) participation times were recorded at the Ho. Senator J. Milton Teajay, UP of Sinoe County obtained the highest participation times. He spoke 183 times. Others with high participation marks include: Abrahim D. Dillon, LP spoke 155 times, Sen. J. Gbleh Bo Brown, UP of Maryland County Spoke 110 times and Sen. Daniel Flomo Naateh, ANC, Gbarpolu County also spoke 111 times. Conversely, four Senators obtained the lowest in plenary attendance. Those Senators include; Sen. James P. Binney, CDC of Maryland County obtained 12, Sen. Mashells Dennis, CDC of Grand Gedeh County obtained 17, Sen. Henrique Togba, and IND of Bong County obtained 8 and Sen. Jeremiah Koung, MDR of Nimba County obtained 10 in plenary participation times.

At the House of Representatives, four Representatives obtained the highest participation times. Hon. Matthew ZarZar, UP of Sinoe spoke 42 times. Others include; Hon. Ivan K. Jones, IND of Margibi County spoke 37 times, Hon. Moima Brings Mensah, IND of Bong County spoke 25 times and Hon. Larry Younquoi, UP of Nimba County also spoke 37 times respectively.

PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATIONS

Some Members of the Liberian Legislators attend global parliamentary meetings, these meetings enable members prefer key issues relating to the interest of Liberia and the continent of Africa. However, it is disappointing to note that many of the Legislators who represented the Liberian Legislature during the quarter did not provide any written report to their various chambers of the Liberian Legislature up to the compilation of this report. The report could provide the opportunity for the Liberian Public or the Legislature to be knowledgeable about what the Legislators

Liberia Legislators that attend the following Parliamentary meetings;

ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES

(ECOWAS) PARLIAMENT

Senator Stephen J.H. Zargo of Lofa County – Chairman on

Security

Jonathan L. Kaipay, Grand Bassa County
Senator Edwin Marvin Snowe –Represents the House of

Representatives

Representative -Haja Fata Siyon of Bomi County
Representative -Clarence Massaquoi of Lofa County
WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Although the physical infrastructure of the Legislature has been expanded by the Government of the People’s Republic of China which created new offices and meeting’s rooms. The limited connectivity of electricity continues to undermine plenary work; many session`s days plenary have to adjourned or wait for electricity before session starts. Lawmakers and their staff are therefore hindered in carrying out their duties. To have a well functional office, The Liberian Legislature should consider electricity and internet as key priorities. Despite progress has been made but more are need to address critical issues raised in the report.

CHALLENGES/LESSONS LEARNED

The Legislative budget office and the legal drafting center are very weak due to limited budget and logistical support. Legislators are not regularly updating the Legislative information service thus creating a huge challenge of the public to access near real time Legislations that are passed and pending at the Legislature. These factors also undermine Legislative transparency and promote closed governance system that leads to corruption.

Holding the Liberian Legislature accountable most especially individual Legislators relating to decision-making has become a challenged to the public including CSOs due to the breakdown of voting machine. Citizens are unable to hold their elected Leaders accountable due to the lack of voting machine at the Legislature.

The offices of the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Liberian Legislature faced huge challenges of the needed logistics to effectively operate and meet the demand of the Legislature and the public. This situation does not only affect the Legislature, but it greatly affects the public most especially those who visit the Legislature to obtain information.

The Secret sessions have become a regular component of plenary sessions. Very crucial agenda items are discussed in closed door. This situation also continues to undermine Legislative accountability and transparency and creates information gaps and doubt on the minds of the public. For instance, the replacement of the Liberian Dollar was discussed in secret sessions and confirmation of public officials are also carried out in secrete sessions. Based on best parliamentary practices, Secrete Sessions are intended for state security related matters but what confirmation of a presidential Nominees have to do with State Security issue?

The Legislature which is considered as the first branch of government is parked with dark cloud with the lack of transparency and accountability evidence by the lack of voting Machine and continuous secret session. In view of the foregoing, the Legislature which monitors the Executive Branch of government is not transparent, therefore the executive branch of government is also not transparent in-Service delivery to the Liberian people evident of the lack of budget performance reports.

The County Service Centers are nearly closing but the Liberian Legislature has not been able to address the situation but was able to allocate thirty thousand (30,000) for each Legislators in the National Budget neglecting national and communities’ interest for development. These acts of the Legislature undermine national development and sadly promote individual legislators’ political interest above their electorates. IREDD believes that the Liberian Legislature needs to take prompt actions that address citizen’s interest and national development.

MONITORING OBSERVATION

The fragmented and neglect of statutory functions by committees, especially their failure to carry out due diligence on individuals appointed into government prior to confirming them, and their non-insistence to have a quarterly review on annual budgetary performance are factors that hamper productivity across government. From the Monitoring, it is noticed that performance reports are submitted during the budget hearing period as a means to justify funding for the new fiscal year. The period is so short, leaving committees the burden of most times not acting from informed decisions.
The weakening of political institutions within the legislature can be attributed to the placement of interests above duty by members.

The frequent cross-carpeting within the political parties leaves their platforms vague since members who should be championing a party’s cause relatively take on different course upon joining new parties.

Obtaining participatory votes on issue remains a challenge to the monitoring. No tracking machines installed in the “chamber” that hosts plenary in the new building making it quite difficult to record names of who voted through a “Nay”, “Yea” response.
The circulation of unsigned committee reports for plenary endorsement against existing rules of having all reports signed a day prior to a session day. Most of the Committee reports are signed in Plenary. This is against standing rules of the House.
Most Acts submitted to Plenary do not go through all the required reading procedures. The first reading constitutes the second as well depending on the interest attached, some bills overstay in committee room, while others are addressed hastily. This is evidence by the number of bills passed for the Quarter 2021.
IREDD monitoring revealed that during the period, there was no report submitted to the plenary from the ECOWAS Team, this means Legislators only attend regular ECOWAS Committee meetings, but they failed to submit comprehensive report during their deliberations at such meeting. This highlights the lack of financial accountability of taxpayers’ monies by legislators.
While the House functions through committees, it has been observed that the Speaker is in the business of setting up special committees to perform the duties of statutory committees. This situation has caught the attention of legislators, who have argued that existing committees should rather be empowered to perform their oversight functions. For example, the committee on rules, orders and administration should investigate every matter but investigative committees are set up in its presence.
IREDD recognizes the efforts made by the Liberian Senate through our advocacy over the years in reducing the number of secret sessions (executive sessions) and moving from a “Na Yea” voting to a manual vote taking with calling of names. However, IREDD calls on the legislature to reintroduce and make use of the electronic voting machines installed at the both houses. IREDD will also like to call on the House of Representatives to follow suit to improve legislative openness, transparency and accountability at the legislature.
At the House of Representatives, sessions begin late, leaving plenary little or no time to exhaust the agenda. This is attributed to committee meetings being held on session days, violating the House’s standing rule. Frequently, agenda items are deferred for more than two weeks.

Loitering during sessions and leaving session when invitees are answering to concerns for which they are invited, speaking when one is not recognized are other issues which the presiding needs to take stringent measures on.
The frequent and blatant disrespect of public Officials from the Executive Branch of government to the legislature when they invited to provide information on state related matters by committees or the plenary has caught IREDD’s attention. The Minister of Finance, Hon. Samuel D Tweh is mostly involved in this act. This is also evident by the fine of 4,999 Liberian dollars placed on the Minister of Agriculture, Madam Jeanine Cooper for gross disrespect.

Fellow Liberians, International Partners, ladies and gentlemen of the press, IREDD is concern as to whether the Liberian legislature is working for the people or for the president. IREDD noticed, 90% of the legislation passed by the legislature under the period recorded originated from the president. It is also important to highlight that most of these legislations were speedily passed sometimes ignoring the clear procedure to pass legislations.

Recommendations

Moving forward, IREDD recommends that the passage of all legislations should be acted upon based on the Legislature`s standing rules and best legislative practices

That the Liberian Legislature ensures that all line ministries and agencies provide their quarterly and annual budget performance reports so as to enhance transparency and accountability in public service and also inform legislative decisions during budget deliberations

That the both Houses of the Liberian Legislature review its standing rules to prevent Committees` members signing committees reports during plenary sessions.

That the plenary of the House of representatives and the Liberian Senate ensure that all members of international parliaments to provide report on their representations at the different parliaments.

CONCLUSION

Despite the impervious operational mood of the Legislature particularly the work of oversight committees, the quality of engagement and cooperation established with key clerical staffs of both chambers is highly helpful in gathering this 2021 Bi-annual report. Lack of access to committees’ minutes as well as the legislature’s lack of commitment to bills tracking systems further complicates monitoring efforts and data collection. However, there remains high prospect for improved data collection environment as public awareness becomes heightened and citizens’ demand for accountability continue to gain momentum with time. Although, the monitoring report has not quarterly been release to the public since 2021. However, IREDD remains committed to monitoring the Liberian Legislature and providing comprehensive monitoring report. The breakdown to the quarterly reporting is not due to our weakness but due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Liberia and around the world. IREDD Quarterly report will now be released on a bi-annually basic.

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