Capital

Parliament’s year

On its last day on June 7, 2008, Ambassador Teshome Toga, Speaker of the House, had to take a seat he isn’t used to. Like many high government officials he has hosted, he presented the House’s third year performance report to which MPs [the opposition] had many things to say if it were not for the shortness of time their seats entitled them. “I wasn’t given adequate time to express due criticisms, “Opposition MP Temesgen Zewdie later told Capital.
In his report Ambassador Teshome highlights effective legislations and monitoring achievements that show better performance when compared to the last two years of the House which took its oath after the May 2005 national elections. According to the report a total of 55 bills were submitted to the House of which 48 were endorsed while the rest await a final say next September when the House reconvenes.
Forty three regular and five extraordinary sessions were conducted of which few were to discuss reports by the P.M. and his seventeen ministers. The P.M. and five ministers were called to respond to questions forwarded by MPs at five extraordinary sessions but Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP-Medhin) Chair, MP Lidetu Ayalew says there could have been better performance in this regard. “We didn’t use the opportunity as we could, we could have raised questions and concerns that need due attention,” Lidetu explained. He participated actively and is even the only party that presented an agenda on opposition day [two years in a row]. “The conditions are not inviting, “Temesgen responds when asked why EDP-Medhin is the only party to use the opportunity, “if it was a case where the Speaker puts conditions for all to enjoy fair advantages and conditions, we would have but that was not the case.” MP Professor Beyene Petros questioned the ruling’s party motive to Capital while commenting on a matter few weeks back. “They choose whom to promote, “Beyene commented.
The first quarter performance of the House wasn’t satisfactory to most opposition MPs as sessions held in the last few weeks were exhaustive and had entertained as many as fifteen agenda items in a single day [morning and afternoon sessions]. “The Council of Ministers was not submitting bills in a timely way,” Temesgen said and also accounts the Speaker’s foreign trips as contributing to the negative performance.
In his report Speaker Teshome explained that even if there were broad discussions and debates in the forty two sessions, most were concluded in mutual agreement and understanding. However, this assessment is not shared by some opposition MPs.
In the recent colorful session on Friday July 4 [senior government officials including the P.M. were in attendance to celebrate National Flag Day] Bulcha Demksa, Chair of Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) was upset as to why the Budget and Finance Affairs Standing Committee didn’t include any of the opposition’s suggestions to amend the record high budget bill for 2008/2009 fiscal year. “In protest we will not vote on the bill, “Bulcha told the House, a move that resulted in immediate protest from the Speaker who saw the statement inappropriate and feared discouragement of MPs that didn’t speak and yet to have their say through their votes. Bulcha didn’t intend to any back out and his decision is likely to be respected by at least eight other MPs his party represents.
Bulcha has been particularly disappointed with the standing committee’s decisions, ‘if it weren’t for the 100% ruling party’s domination over the committee, this bill would not even come here,” he had once said responding to a bill he saw as threatening.
National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) formation amendment, bankers’ and the latest press and information freedom bills can be stated to name but a few which were a headache for Bulcha to see being passed by the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and other affiliated group MPs which make up an absolute majority.
Lidetu also doesn’t appreciate the House’s voting trend in which he says the opposition showed a better stand. “It is understandable if the bills are fundamentally viewed differently but when you see the same pack voting similarly through out the entire year, one may wonder how one MP can just do the job. It undermines the ideal why the number of seats was first made higher in the first place “Lidetu commented to Capital.
Opposition voting records Capital has gathered show that even if EDP-Medhin in some cases made public of its ‘serious reservations’ that made it impossible for it to back the motions of few oppositions groups, other opposition groups [with more seats] that didn’t protest the motions didn’t vote in support as they usually abstain. For example, there were three budget cut motions [one withdrawn] from the opposition camp on July 4, 2008. The two heard, one by Temesgen and another by Bulcha, didn’t secure a full vote.
The serious divide between the ruling party and the opposition isn’t as common as most people perceive. In most cases international loans and assistance agreements [close to 57% of agendas] are approved either anonymously or by pass voice through motions of first reading.
Among notable achievements, the endorsement of vehicle insurance against third party risks is one, passed surprisingly only by majority in the House’s December 20 session.
The House also endorsed a bill which seemed hardly a priority-African Nuclear- Weapons Free Zone Treaty. On the same day [December 13, 2007] the debate heated up as then only a bill on political party registration was tabled.
The opposition feared that the bill [endorsed on April 10] will result in a multi-party system crumple as it empowers the government to seize all properties of political parties that comes form unidentified sources, which is according to opposition, unrealistic since Ethiopians are yet to feel comfortable to publicly support opposition. In this resistance which passed being the unified and tough by the opposition camp, UEDP-MEDHIN, which claims to set a third political option aligns itself with the opposition despite its negotiation with the government on the bill.
Concerning external relations, the leadership of Speaker Teshome has been regarded as the best the House has witnessed. Almost all interested local press [private and state owned] had attended this year’s session with a cooperative public relations staff, according to some reporters Capital talked to. The House also provided a two days training for journalists to introduce them with the procedures, involving professional from Addis Ababa University and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The House also hosted two continental conferences, the 30’th general assembly of the African Parliament and the parliament’s 51’th executive committee meeting. It also hosted IGAD’s parliament founding congress.
More than 1200 students and invited guests have followed some of the House’s sessions and daily coverage of sessions on state run media was also among efforts. A reservation in the state owned media to the opposition is highlighted by Lidetu who says one-sided coverage [that doesn’t show the real debates the House conducted] can be understood if one sees the news of session of the House that approved 2008/2009 budget year. “We told the Speaker and we were in agreement on the issue and even had discussion but it is yet to change, “Lidetu explains areas he suggests need improvement.
Speaker Teshome’s performance report indicates that capacity building and support programs for MPs, which currently have poor efficiency, are expected partially to be addressed in the reform the House is soon to undergo.
Critics explain that some MPs [mostly opposition] were repeatedly violating House procedures and even forcing the government whip to beg to finish his statements. The Speaker in most cases has been fair, according to most MPs in controlling the discussions. “We had to endure very discriminatory regulations and procedures and even can no longer enjoy the right to group ourselves, “Temesgen says, looking the year’s performance sadly,” for me it was not such a glowing performance and here we are sitting in patient since we don’t know where to go to protest the latest decisions.”
Many MPs Capital polled agree that the overall performance of the Speaker of the House and its offices have been satisfactory. “In general the House performed its main tasks in accordance to the goals set and I believe though some improvements went by, it will become stronger and more democratic institution,” Speaker Teshome stated during the last session of the House.