Rebel-styled Speaker of the 55th Legislature Richard N. Koon has promised a new chapter of growth and opportunity for Liberia.
Speaking Monday, January 27, 2025 at the post State of the Nation Address (SONA) lunch at the Capitol Building in Monrovia, Speaker Koon said that the launch of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID) has inflamed great hope and raised expectations among the people, and as Legislature opens for the second session of the six-year journey, they will embark on the full implementation of the transformative agenda.
According to him, essential to the implementation of the agenda, is quality data for evidence-based decision-making.
With that, the Montserrado County District #11 lawmaker has urged the leadership of the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) to validate, finalize, and submit the 2022 National Population And Housing Census report to the Legislature to enable them establish the threshold for constituency demarcation and delineation, according to Article 80 the of the Liberian Constitution.
Article 80 of the Liberian Constitution states: “Each constituency shall have approximately equal population of 20,000, or such number of citizens as the legislature shall prescribe in keeping with population growth and movements as revealed by a national census; provided that the total number of electoral constituencies in the Republic shall not exceed one hundred”. And this should be done every 10 years, the last time the constitutional requirement was met was in 2008.”
Koon also encouraged the passage and approval of key laws that are crucial to driving impactful transformations aligned with the ARREST Agenda.
“We request for the concurrence of the Senate to enact the Presidential Transition Act which seeks to establish the arrangements and mechanisms for the proper management of the transfer of political power or administration from one democratically elected President to another democratically elected President,” Koon said.
He further requested the concurrence of the Senate to enact “The Liberia National Tourism Authority Act” when passed into law. According to him, the Act will help leverage the tourism potential of Liberia for investment, employment, growth, and national development.
Koon also wants the concurrence of the Senate for the enactment of the Legislation to establish a Commission for the Elderly, an Act that has been with the Senate since the 54th Legislature.
The contestable Speaker of the 55th Legislature called on his colleagues to highly prioritize and fast-track the passage of “The Ministry of Local Government Act” to be sent to the Senate for concurrence. The Act is intended to decentralize the government’s activities.
“Meanwhile, we also intend to prioritize and finalize the issues with The New Election Law this legislative year,” he said. Koon said the Legislature is steadfast in its mission to meet and exceed the expectations of the citizens, honoring the trust placed in them as lawmakers.
