By: Joseph Momoh
The Clerk of Parliament, Hon. Paran Umar Tarawally, has announced that all backlog salaries for opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) Members of Parliament will be paid by December 2024. This decision follows concerns raised by opposition leadership regarding delays in receiving their entitlements.
The issue was highlighted by Hon. Abdul Kargbo during a recent meeting between parliamentary officials and a delegation of international Moral Guarantors, who were in Sierra Leone to assess the year-old national unity agreement signed between the government and the APC after the 2023 elections. Hon. Kargbo referred to Resolution 4 (D), which addresses the entitlements of opposition Members of Parliament, Mayors, and Councilors, noting that these matters have yet to be addressed by the government.
The APC urged the delegation to pressure the government to implement Resolution 4 (D) and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.
In response, Hon. Paran Umar Tarawally emphasized that the parliamentary leadership has consistently reminded the Ministry of Finance about the outstanding payments. He confirmed that all relevant documents have been prepared and submitted to the Ministry for action.
The Acting Leader of Government Business, Hon. Bashiru Silkie, assured the opposition MPs of the government’s commitment to uphold the national unity agreement and to implement Resolution 4 (D) fully. He also noted that the opposition MPs joined the first session of the Sixth Parliament late, and that these issues would be addressed at the beginning of the next session during an upcoming retreat.
