Sierra Leone
Parliament Act, 2023
Act 26 of 2023
- Published in Sierra Leone Gazette 40 on 22 June 2023
- Assented to on 2 May 2023
- Commenced on 22 June 2023
- [This is the version of this document from 22 June 2023.]
Part I – Preliminary
1. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—"Chief Whip" means a member of the governing party in Parliament appointed from among members of his party whose role is to ensure that members of his party are disciplined in Parliament;"Clerk of Parliament" means the Clerk of Parliament appointed under section 82 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No. 6 of 1991;"Commission" means the Parliamentary Commission established by section 2;"Deputy Chief Whip" means a Member of Parliament whose role is to deputise the Chief Whip;"Deputy Leader of Government Business" means the Leader in Parliament whose role is to deputise the Leader of Government Business;"Deputy Leader of Opposition" means the Leader in Parliament whose role is to deputise the Leader of Opposition;"Director-General" means the Director-General of the Parliamentary Service appointed by the Parliamentary Service Commission;"Female Caucus" means the asssembly of all female Members of Parliament that meet to pursue common legislative odjectives;"Financial year" means a period of one year ending on the 31st day of December;"Governing Party" means the party in Parliament whose Government is in power;"Leader of Government Business" means the Leader in Parliament whose party is in Government;"Leader of Opposition" means the Leader in Parliament whose role is to lead the business of the opposition in Parliament;"Opposition Party" means the party in Parliament other than the Governing Party with the most seats in Parliament after presidential and parliamentary elections;"Opposition Whip" means a member of Parliament appointed by the Opposition whose role is to ensure that members of his party are disciplined in Parliament;"Other Parties" mean other parties represented in Parliament other than the governing or the opposition parties;"Paramount Chief Members of Parliament" means paramount chiefs elected to represent the fourteen political districts in parliament in accordance with section 74 (1) a of the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No. 6 of 1991."Parliament" means the arm of government as established by section 73 (1) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No. 6 of 1991."Parliamentary Service" means the Parliamentary Service established under subsection (1) of section 22;"President Female Caucus" means the Leader of all females in Parliament that meet to pursue common legislative objectives;"Speaker" means the Speaker of Parliament elected under section 79 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No. 6 of 1991 as amended."Deputy Speaker" means the Deputy Speaker of Parliament elected under section 80 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No. 6 of 1991 as amended.Part II – Establishment of Parliamentary Commission
2. Establishment of Parliamentary Commission
3. Tenure of members
4. Function of Commission
5. Meetings of Commission
6. Allowances of Members of Commission
The Chairman and other members of the Commission shall be paid sitting and travelling allowances as may be determined by the Commission and shall be reimbursed by the Parliamentary Service for reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the discharge of their functions.7. Committees of Commission
Part III – Leadership and governance of Parliament
8. Leadership of Parliament
9. Speaker of Parliament
The Speaker as head of Parliament shall be responsible for the governance of Parliament including—10. Deputy Speaker of Parliament
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament shall perform such functions as may be delegated by the Speaker of Parliament and shall perform the functions of the Office of Speaker where the Speaker is out of the jurisdiction as provided for in sub section 5 of section 80 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No. 6 of 1991.11. Leader of Government Business
The Leader of Government Business shall be responsible for—12. Deputy Leader of Government Business
The Deputy Leader of Government Business shall perform such functions as delegated to him by the Leader of Government Business and shall perform the functions of the Office of Leader of Government Business where the Leader of Government Business is absent from Parliament.13. Leader of Opposition
The Leader of Opposition shall be responsible for—14. Deputy Leader of Opposition
The Deputy Leader of Opposition shall perform such functions as may be delegated to him by the Leader of Opposition and shall perform the functions of the Office of Opposition Leader when he is absent from Parliament.15. Other party leaders
A leader of a party other than the ruling party or the opposition party shall be responsible for—16. Chief Whip
Chief Whip shall be responsible for—17. Deputy Chief Whip
The Deputy Chief Whip shall perform such functions as may be delegated to him by the Chief Whip and shall perform the functions of the Office of Chief Whip where the Chief Whip is absent from Parliament.18. Opposition Whip
The Opposition Whip shall be responsible for—19. Deputy Opposition Whip
Deputy Opposition Whip: The Deputy Opposition Whip shall perform such functions as may be delegated to him by the Opposition Whip and shall perform the functions of the Office of Opposition Whip if he is absent from Parliament.20. Chairman of Paramount Chief Members of Parliament
Chairman Paramount Chief Members of Parliament shall be responsible for—21. President, Female Caucus
The President of the Female Caucus shall be responsible for—Part IV – Establishment of the Parliamentary Service
22. Parliamentary Service
23. Functions of Parliamentary Service
The Parliamentary Service shall be responsible to provide Parliament with technical and administrative support and advisory services so as to enable Parliament to effectively and efficiently execute its constitutional and other functions.24. Management Board
There shall be a Management Board of the Parliamentary Service, consisting of the Clerk, Deputy Clerk. Director General and other Directors of the Parliamentary Service, to assist the Clerk of Parliament in the discharge of his duties.25. Clerk of Parliament
26. Deputy Clerk of Parliament
There shall be a Deputy Clerk of Parliament who shall assist the Clerk of Parliament in the performance of his functions.27. Director-General
There shall be a Director-General appointed by the Commission who, shall, in addition to the Deputy Clerk of Parliament, assist the Clerk of Parliament in the performance of his functions, as follows:28. Commission to appoint consultants etc.
29. Directorates of Parliamentary Service
Part V – Establishment of Specialised Offices
30. Specialised Offices
31. Functions of the Office of the Law Clerk
There shall be established the Office of the Law Clerk by the Parliamentary Service Commission as provided for in Section 30 of this Act with the following functions—32. Autonomy of the Office of the Law Clerk
Without prejudice to the provisions of Section 53 of this Act, the Office of the Law Clerk in the discharge of the specialised nature of its functions, shall not be subject to the interference of any person.33. Office of the Law Clerk Report
The Office of the Law Clerk shall publish an annual report at the close of every Parliamentary Session.34. The Law Clerk, Deputy and other staff
35. Qualification of the Law Clerk and Deputy
A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Law Clerk unless he—36. Functions of the Parliamentary Budget Office
37. Autonomy of the Parliamentary Budget Office
Without prejudice to the provisions of Section 53 of this Act, the Budget Office in the discharge of the specialised nature of its functions, shall not be subject to the interferance of any person.38. Parliamentary Budget Office Reports
The report of the Parlimentary Budget office shall be—39. Director of the Budget Office
The Parliamentary Service Commission shall appoint the Director of the Budget Office who shall be specialised in Audit, Accountancy, Public Financial Management, Public Policy or Macro-Economics.40. Deputy Director of the Budget Office
The Parliamentary Service commission shall appoint the Deputy Director of the Budget Office who shall be specialised in Audit, Accountancy, Public Financial Management, Public Policy or Macro-Economics.41. Other officers and staff of the Budget Office
The Parliamentary Service Commission shall appoint other officers and staff of the Budget Office who shall be knowledgeable in Audit, Accountancy, Public Financial Management, Public Policy or Macro-Economics, for the effective and efficient performance of the Budget Office.42. Co-operation
43. Functions of the Centre for Parliamentary Studies
There shall be established the Centre for Strategy and Parliamentary Studies by the Parliamentary Service Commission in Section 30 of this Act with the following functions—44. Board of the Centre for Strategy and Parliamentary Studies
The Parliamentary Service Commission shall appoint a Specialised Board to provide policy direction, oversight to the management of the centre.45. Composition of the Board of the Centre for strategy and Parliamentary studies
The Board shall comprise of—46. Funds of the Centre for Strategy and Parliamentary Studies
The Parliamentary Service Commission may directly allocate funds through the Board of the Centre, for the implementation of plans and programmes of the centre.Part VI – Financial provisions
47. Annual Budget of Parliament
48. Funds of Parliament
49. Accounts and records
50. Annual Report
Part VII – Salaries and other benefits
51. Conditions of service
Part VIII – Miscellaneous
52. Retirement of members of the Parliamentary Service
53. Creation and abolition of offices
54. Secondment
Staff of Parliamentary Service may be supported to Proceed on secondment within or outside Sierra Leone for Career development.55. Study leave
The Parliamentary Service shall subject to the approval of the Commission grant Study leave to Parliamentary Service staff for post-graduate studies only, within or outside Sierra Leone.56. Regulations
The Commission may, by Statutory Instrument make rules and regulations to give effect to this Act.57. Repeal
The following are hereby repealed or revoked—History of this document
22 June 2023 this version
Published in Sierra Leone Gazette 40
Commenced
02 May 2023
Assented to