Board of House of Representatives Holds Meeting on Tuesday, January 14th

The Board of the House of Representatives held its weekly meeting on Tuesday, January 14th. The meeting, chaired by Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr. Habib El Malki, raised topics relating to government control, legislation, plenary sessions, report of Court of Accounts, organization of study days, exploratory missions, and foreign affairs.

Speaker of the House and the Board members started the meeting by affirming the importance given by all the bodies of the House to the well-functioning of plenary sessions following parliamentary ethics and the nobleness of the message carried by the Deputies. The Board also stressed on utilizing all available means to settle the disagreements concerning the well-functioning of plenary sessions.

Concerning weekly government control, the Board set the agenda on economic, social, and judicial matters. The Board also reaffirmed the importance of Article 152 of the Rules of Procedure relative to taking the floor at the end of the session to discuss urgent and general issues that need to be dealt with, a matter under study to elucidate the laws and procedures related to it.

As regards legislation, the Board settled on convening a plenary session next week to review and vote on several legislations. The Board also reviewed and deposited a law proposal relative to controlling import and export of products used by civilians and the military and the related services with the Productive Sectors Committee, and deposited a law proposal relative to traffic code with the Infrastructure Committee. Besides, it deposited a law proposal relative to social security with the Social Sectors Committee. The Board also submitted a law proposal relative to subdivisions, condominiums, and real estate division to the Internal affairs, Housing and Urban Policy Committee, as well as an organic law proposal relative to the regulation and functioning of government activities and the legal status of ministers.

The House’s Board, in coordination with the Board of the House of Councilors, decided on convening a joint plenary session to present the report of the Court of Accounts on Tuesday, January 28^th at 11 a.m.

Regarding the organization of study days at the House of Representatives, the House's board set its agenda on "Funding The National Economy, Towards an Integrative Development," which follows the directives set by the Royal Address on the occasion of the opening of the current legislative year, in which His Majesty – may God protect Him – called for more private sector involvement in the process of development, specifically the banking and financial sector, which is fundamental for every development strategy.

Moreover, after the board hailed the content of the Royal speech, it decided that the House of Representatives programs will comprise seminars and study days, emanating from His Majesty's speeches, to invest their high potential guidelines that encompass economic, social, cultural and environmental fields.

Also, the board agreed to organize a study day, during February, according to the willingness of the Petitions Committee.

As concerns exploratory missions, the board recalled the Rules of Procedure provisions that regulate the tasks and functioning of these missions. The Board set the end of the legislative session as a deadline to submit reports on the missions the it had previously approved. The Board also approved the request of the Finance and Economic Development Committee to carry out a short exploratory mission on the sector of Credit Institutes and similar bodies. It additionally approved the request of the Education, Culture and Communication Committee to carry out an exploratory mission on the Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion.

Regarding foreign affairs, the House’s Board decided to participate, through the Specialized parliamentary group, in the fourth session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.