By William Madouk Garang
A lawmaker at Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA) has slammed the Speaker of the R-TNLA, Jemma Nunu Kumba accusing her for wastefully spending lots money on expensive and fruitless trips abroad.
MP Juol Nhomngek also alleged that Speaker is working to “destroy” young Members of Parliament by creating confusion, but he however declared to stage a fight till last breath even if that requires them to ask for her sacking.
In a statement seen by No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, Nhomngek, an MP representing Cueibet County of Lakes State at R-TNLA the on ticket of main opposition party Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army- in Opposition (SPLM-IO), alleged that the August House is not in the right track.
“The Parliament is almost collapsing as the leadership has completely disintegrated. For the last few months, the Speaker is the only person making decisions for the Parliament,” Nhomngek said in a statement seen by No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper.
“The Parliament has only become the Parliament of trips as trips have become source of money where millions of dollars are being spent on unproductive trips. There is no approval for the expenditure of the Parliament. The Speaker creates trips whenever they come,” he added.
MP Nhomngek said there was no proper expenditure by lawmakers but yet Speaker has been creating trips as a business of getting funds approved on unproductive tours while elder Members of Parliament are suffering curable ailments.
“This has affected all departments of the Parliament. Thus workers in the Parliament are not being paid and other services are not being delivered for several months. The elderly Members of Parliament do not even have access to medication because the Parliament has overspent its budget mostly on the trips of Speaker and her cliques,” he lamented.
However, the lawmaker further narrated that their obligation was undermined because Members of the House are denied to speak as such the idea of representing the citizens is just a chase after mirage.
“The Parliament is no longer free for Members to speak and so the representation of the citizens is just illusion. As we speak now the Parliament does not have printing papers and ink not because of lack of money but because Speaker is using all means to get the money for her private activities,” he noted.
He claimed that Speaker and clerk are working collectively to make sure that Parliament doesn’t function well but instead they want Legislature to operate in a way that suit their interests.
“In conclusion, we ordinary members have agreed to stage the full war against the Speaker in the Parliament either to ensure that Parliament works in implementing the Revitalized Agreement or we ask the SPLM-IG to bring another Speaker who shall work for their interest,” the lawmakers solely declared.