By Tereza Jeremiah Chuei
A member of parliament at Central Equatoria Transitional Legislative Assembly Easter Awate John yesterday echoed security concerns amid army Generals she said enters parliament with guns yet it is prohibited.
She appealed to the chairperson of standing specialized committee at the State assembly to take the matter serious and ensure that generals carrying guns to offices and the premises of State Parliament are stopped.
She made the statement yesterday during the tabling of the emolument bill of the State constitutional post holders.
The lawmaker advised her colleagues to communicate to their friends or workmates who might be generals in the Army to cooperate by leaving the guns to security at the gate before entering any office within the parliamentary premises.
Awate cautioned the security committee chairperson at the State Parliament to register the issue citing that guns shouldn’t be carried direct to the offices but rather be left to the security at the gate.
The Chairperson of law and local government Easter Awate told the Rt. Hon. Speaker of the August house, Peter Wani to take the issue of security as a priority.
“I cannot see someone with a gun matching to my office and I keep quiet…so honorable speaker the issue of security in this parliament needs to be prioritized and be taken as number one so that we are all secured,” she said.
“We are seeing some generals coming to our offices, one day I realized that and I reported to the chairperson of the security that there is someone who has come to our office with a pistol, can you really take that serious?” she cited.
Awate called on the Generals to cooperate with the security protocol in the State parliament,
“So, if we have connection with a general or all those titles, please let that person leave the pistol at the security, so that he or she comes and sits compatible, because for me I am so scared.”
The woman MP also criticized the dressing coat of some people saying she had seen some gentlemen wearing ear rings in the premises upon her arrival for yesterday’s sitting which she said doesn’t show decency in the august house.
“Serious issues about the security today I have witnessed, I don’t know if the chairperson of the security committee is so serious. I saw two young men entering to the premises wearing some ear rings, this should be security precaution and the chairperson of security should ensure that at least the gate is controlled,” she stressed.