The Central Equatoria State Legislative Assembly members are slated to receive their sitting allowances, one-month arrears, and emoluments, as announced by the House Speaker, Peter Wani Kulang.
Kulang conveyed this information to the parliamentarians during a session on Monday, revealing that the decision emerged from a meeting between him and Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony.
The speaker clarified that the meeting with Governor Adil aimed to address the issue of members skipping sessions, emphasizing the importance of ensuring lawmakers receive their sitting allowances in a timely manner.
Kulang stated, “I want to announce that myself, the two chief whips, the chairperson of members’ affairs, and the chairperson for Finance were able to meet the governor last week.”
“In the meeting, we reached an agreement on several issues. One key concern we discussed with the governor was the matter of sitting allowances. The low turnout for sessions has become a significant issue, and we are cognizant of the members’ circumstances,” stated Kulang.
He further explained that during the meeting, Governor Adil assured the committee that Members of Parliament (MPs) would receive their sitting allowances, with payments scheduled to commence from this week.
Kulang added, “Governor Adil is set to instruct the Minister of Finance to promptly disburse the sitting allowance for the honourable members. Additionally, we have also addressed the matter of the members of the Assembly Business Committee (ABC), and the governor has committed to releasing their leave entitlements, as they are not part of the general member’s allowances.”
The speaker, however, mentioned that the Governor rejected a request for Christmas allowances raised by the lawmakers, citing concerns that providing bonuses solely to parliamentarians would create unrest among other branches of the state government.
“We also discussed matters related to Christmas bonuses, but the governor declined to grant them. He explained that offering a Christmas bonus to the parliament alone would lead to similar demands from all other government institutions,” Kulang explained.
To prevent potential chaos, the matter of Christmas bonuses has been set aside for the time being.
To contact Radio Tamazuj with comments, news tips or information, write to radiotamazuj@gmail.com or use the contact form.