Minority Leader blasts low turnout by MPs
July 10, 2015 By Hassan Gbassay Koroma
Minority Leader of the House of Parliament Wednesday (July 8) expressed disappointment over the low turnout of members at a tribute sitting in honour of the late Hon. BlissOsho-Williams, who passed away on 27th June.
Hon. Dr. Bernadette Lahai informed the Speaker that on the day of the opening of the book of condolence for the fallen lawmaker in Parliament, all MPs were informed about the special sitting, which was why they chose Wednesday July 8 so that lawmakers who may have visited their constituencies over the weekend would have returned to town.
But to her greatest surprise, only a handful of members turned up for the ceremony.
“Mr. Speaker, honourable members, I am sad because there are things in life that are important and should be taken seriously but we do not; instead we give importance to things that are not. Mr. Speaker, I make this statement with no apology to any member,” she said, adding that the late man was “a father, an uncle and a friend who contributed meaningfully to the activities of Parliament”.
In his tribute, Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Sheku B.B. Dumbuya, said he was shocked when he heard the news about the death of the MP, whom he described as “a good man who interacted with everybody in Parliament”.
“Hon. Bliss Osho-Williams was a decent man who treated everybody as one in this House of Parliament, irrespective of which political party one belongs,” said Hon. Dumbuya. “There was a time when the late man said he was older than everyone in this well, and it was true. But despite his age, the late man always respected each and everyone and had respect for authority.”
In his contribution, Hon. Dickson Rogers of the SLPP referred to the late veteran lawmaker as “a father to all in this House who never called any member by his or her name”.
“He would always refer to us as ‘my sons and daughters’, and he would give advice to MPs irrespective of which party you belong to. He never looked at us as opposition members,” he said, and called on his colleague lawmakers to follow the footsteps of the late man.
Hon. Rogers added that Hon. Osho-Williams was never a patrician and that he treated them all as one both in and outside of Parliament.
Hon. Osho-Williams, who represented the ruling All People’s Congress in Constituency 107 in the Western Urban, passed away on 27th June.