President Joseph N. Boakai has issued his first Proclamation calling on the 55th Legislature to extend its 1st Regular Session.
It may be recalled, that President Boakai on Monday, March 25, called for a Special Session of the Legislature to convene for 30 days from Monday, April 1, 2024, to Tuesday, April 30, 2024, to discuss or act upon matters of national concerns.
The President's proclamation, issued last week, is in adherence to the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia. It says that when an extension is requested, a proclamation shall be issued not later than forty-eight hours after;
A Foreign Ministry release quotes the Proclamation as saying that members of the Legislature are to assemble in their respective Chambers to discuss and act upon matters of national concern, requiring urgent legislative decisions and actions for one month.
Accordingly, they are time-bound critical national issues that must be resolved as a matter of urgency. They are so critical that they cannot wait for the return of the Legislature in May.
"They include, inter alia, Financing agreement for the Rural Economic Transformation Project between the Republic of Liberia and International Development Association to extend to Liberia a credit which is deemed as non-concessional financing to improve productivity and market access for smallholder farmers and Agri-enterprises in project participating counties; the passage of the National Budget for FY-2024; and pending nominations for the full sitting of this government within the targeted 100 days deliverables, amongst others," it said.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The release further indicated that according to Article 32(b) of the Liberian Constitution, the Presidential Proclamation states: "I do hereby issue this Proclamation for the 55th Legislature to return for a Special Session by assembling in each of their respective Chambers in the Capitol Building, in the City of Monrovia, Montserrado County, Republic of Liberia, to discuss and act upon matters of national concern, for a period one month".
The adjournment of the Legislature on Friday, March 15, 2024, was however acknowledged by President Boakai but the need to return to work cannot be overemphasized, he wrote: "We acknowledge your first adjournment (First Constituency visit/break, which by law started on the Third Friday of March, same being the 15th instant and will end on Second Friday in May, same being the 10th instant of each year. However, there are time-bound critical national issues that must be resolved as a matter of urgency. They are so critical that they cannot wait for the return of the Legislature in May."
