Somali parliament on Wednesday postponed a session of the house at Villa Hargeysa due to the lack of a quorum.
The house chaired by Sadia Haji Samatar, the first Deputy Speaker of the House of the Federal Republic of Somalia missed the sitting twice this month.
Less than hundred members of parliament attended the proceedings of the house which is occupied by the 275 legislatures.Â
This comes a week after Somali legislators asked Speaker Sheikh Adan Madobe to take appropriate measures to help parliament do its work efficiently.Â
The members of parliament have decreed harassment from security agencies on their way to work.
The assembly is located in Villa Hargeisa inside Villa Somalia where the Presidency and the Office of the Prime Minister.
Parliamentarians said security agencies manning checkpoints leading to have been giving them a hard time, affecting their operations.
Security has been tight since the al-Shabab dared to attack a hotel near Villa Somalia last Sunday.
This led to the postponement of sessions of the House of the people as gunfire could still be heard in the Hotel.
Before Somalia’s parliament can take any legislative action, it requires at least two-thirds of its members — that is, 139 MPS — to be present before Parliament can take legislative action.
The slow performance of Parliament is expected to negatively affect the performance of the institution as several important legislations need to be passed especially now that the country is going through unprecedented times, with drought and insecurity being some of the issues that require Parliament’s undivided attention.
The House of the People and the Senate have the power to represent the Federal Member States and be the custodian of Federalism Principles, Initiate and amend laws, scrutinise the bills and carry out oversight functions to take Government and Other officials accountable to them.
