Eventful June 2014 Parliamentary Session

The session was marked by adoption of 10 bills and the visit of President of National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire.

The June 2014 ordinary session of the ninth legislative period of Parliament is now history but will forever be remembered as one in which the Senate marked its first anniversary of work, adoption of 10 bills by the two Houses of Parliament: the Senate and the National Assembly, meetings and field work by some parliamentary networks and continuous training of both Senators and Members of the National Assembly.

The most eventful and innovative aspect of the parliamentary session was the visit of the President of the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire, Guilaume Soro who attended the opening plenary sittings both in the National Assembly and the Senate on June 11, 2014. Cameroonians still remember his address in the National Assembly during which he promised Côte D'Ivoire's support in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram and encouraged the House Speaker, Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril to initiate a broader reflection at the continental parliamentary level on combating terrorism and armed groups.

Out of the 10 bills adopted by the two Houses, the landmark ones, the main innovation in the session were three private member's bills tabled by the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement, CPDM Parliamentary Group. The bills were one to define the rules of procedure of Parliamentary Commissions of Enquiry, bill on the Standing Orders of the Congress of Parliament and the other one to amend and supplement certain provisions of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly and Senate.

After the three Private Members' bills must have been promulgated into law, Parliament will witness changes in resolving the issue of incompatibility with office, procedures relating to the functioning of Parliamentary Commissions of Enquiry. The functioning of the Committees on Finance and Budget will also be aligned to the new requirements of the law of 26 December 2007 relating to the Fiscal regime of the State.

Cameroon's Parliament further consolidated its diplomatic victories during the session. Senate President, Marcel Niat Njifenji led the country's parliamentary delegation to Geneva, Switzerland for the 125th anniversary of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU June 30, 2014 on the theme, "The IPU at 125: Renewing our commitment to peace and democracy." The news is not the presence of the country's delegation but the fact that Cameroonian-born, Martin Chungong was during the event commissioned into his position as the new Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Martin Chungong, the first African to ever accede to the position was elected on March 20, 2014 during the 130th general assembly meeting of IPU with absolute majority in the first round. Senate President Niat Njifenji also led the country's lobbying delegation whose efforts were rewarded with the election of Martin Chungong.