By Fatou Krubally
The National Assembly Monday suspended consideration of the Minister of Lands, Hamat Bah’s response to a parliamentary report on land registration and documentation.
This development came up as lawmakers said they had not received copies of the Ministry of Lands Regional Government and Religious Affairs’ written submission in advance.
The response was expected to address recommendations contained in the report of the Select Committee on Regional Government, Lands, Ombudsman and IEC on the Performance Audit Report of the National Audit Office regarding the management of land registration and documentation by the ministry.
Proceedings took an unexpected turn when the Minister of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs, Hamat N.K. Bah, informed members that he had only received the committee’s report earlier on Monday.
“Everything in the report is something that we have dealt with,” the minister told lawmakers, adding that he was prepared to respond to questions relating to the recommendations contained in the report.
Bah said a written response had already been prepared and was being printed for distribution to members. He added that he had a copy of the document on his mobile phone and was ready to proceed with the discussion.
However, several lawmakers objected to proceeding without first receiving and reviewing the ministry’s written response. They argued that the matter was not intended to be handled through a question-and-answer session but required formal consideration of the ministry’s responses to each recommendation contained in the committee report.
Some members further noted that if the ministry had received the report late and required additional time to prepare adequately, the matter could be deferred to a later sitting.
Responding to the concerns, the Speaker said it was necessary to establish when the report had been transmitted to the ministry, noting that any delay could involve administrative processes beyond the minister’s control.
Lawmakers also referred to Assembly procedures governing written ministerial statements and stressed the importance of circulating relevant documents to members before debate and scrutiny.
Following consultations on the floor, the Speaker ruled that consideration of the matter could not continue under the prevailing circumstances. He directed that the item be rescheduled and that copies of the ministry’s written response be made available to all members before further deliberations.
The minister welcomed the decision, saying it was important for lawmakers to be fully informed about the ministry’s activities and its responses to the committee’s recommendations.
The Speaker subsequently thanked the minister, lawmakers and Assembly staff before announcing that the Assembly Business Committee would determine a new date for consideration of the matter.