Monday, June 4, was the 41st birthday of twin siblings Joseph Kabila,
President of the DRC, and Jaynet Kabila, unaffiliated national
MP--though she caucuses with her brother's Presidential Majority (PM).
Coincidentally, Monday also happened to be the day Speaker Aubin
Minaku had to introduce the new members of the Committee of the Wise
in a string of so-called "consensus" in-house moves aimed at
enhancing women's representation in the National Assembly.
As a matter of fact, a consensus had already emerged among leaders of
parliamentary caucuses that MP Jaynet Kabila will be the Chairwoman of
the Committee of the Wise.
But Opposition MP Albert-Fabrice Puela took to the floor with an
incidental motion contesting that the designation of the chair of that
committee should be determined by consensus.
It should rather go through a vote, MP Puela argued, according to
Article 43 of the Rules and Regulations of the National Assembly, and
not in closed-door meetings by presidents of parliamentary caucuses.
Without mentioning MP Jaynet Kabila by name, MP Puela further argued
that the basic "criterion of experience," as suggested in the rules
and regulations, wasn't "respected" in this case.
MP Puela therefore demanded that the chairmanship of the Committee of
the Wise be put to a vote by the plenary session.
(Many in the presidential majority accuses MP Puela of having an axe
to grind. In 2010, he was kicked out of MP Olivier Kamitatu's party
ARC [Alliance pour le Renouveau du Congo] for his out-of-control
ambition: he wanted to run for president!)
According to parliamentary rules, two MPs had to speak in support of
the incidental motion, and two others against it.
Amidst jeers and heckling by MPs from the majority, opposition MP (and
erstwhile impeached governor of Equateur Province) José Makila went
for the jugular.
He passionately claimed that Speaker Minaku was a serial violator of
the rules and regulations, and charged that he ought to show the
necessary "intellectual probity" of acknowledging his "missteps"
instead of dashing to an up-and-down vote on the motion of MP Puela.
Speaking for the majority, MP Emmanuel Ramazani Shadari argued that MP
Puela was making a step backward, for the plenary session had
previously decided to have a woman chair the Committe of the Wise, in
an attempt at achieving a semblance of gender parity in positions of
leadership in the National Assembly.
Opposition MP Emery Ukundji warned Speaker Aubin that his repeated
violations of the rules and regulations risk tarnishing the image of
the "temple of democracy" that the National Assembly is striving to
achieve.
Then, after a backbencher from the majority had forcefully argued that
there were no objective criteria for determining the wisdom or the
experience of an MP, the incidental motion of MP Puela was put to a
vote--and soundly defeated.
Following the vote, Speaker Minaku then introduced Chairwoman Jaynet
Kabila and the members of her Committee of the Wise.
A nice birthday present indeed...
The Committee of the Wise works as a mix of ombundsman and ethical
commission for MPs.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
National Assembly: MP Jaynet Kabila designated as committee chairwoman amid Opposition outcry
Posted on 11:05 by Unknown
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