Nasheed against extending term to pass bag amendment

Speaker Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday made it clear that he does not want to extend the current term of the parliament until an amendment is approved to address the issue of double taxing on polythene bag bundles under the new Waste Management Act.

Nasheed, who was presiding over Wednesday’s sitting, announced that the last session of the first term of the year will be convened on Thursday. This is because, according to regulations, the first session of parliament ends this month.

After Nasheed made the announcement, during the preliminary debate on the government-proposed Industrial Relations Bill, Addu Meedhoo MP Ibrahim Shareef proposed that the parliament should not go on leave until the amendment to the Waste Management Act is completed.

Nasheed, who had earlier made it clear that he was in favour of charging a fee from the bag bundle, said such a thing cannot be proposed by Shareef.

"I have to make it clear to the honourable member now that you have raised something which cannot be presented to by you, honourable member. That's why I made it clear. With God’s will, tomorrow this parliament will go on recess," Nasheed said after stopping Shareef's speech.

Nasheed, however, did not specify his actions and words. On the other hand, there is no provision in the parliament's rules of procedure allowing members to propose extensions to the parliamentary terms.

When asked about Nasheed's reply to Shareef, a parliament official told Atoll Times that only the speaker can make such a proposal.

"The procedure followed in this regard is that when the chair submits the proposal, it is passed with the votes of the members," the official said.

According to the parliament's rules of procedure, parliament convenes in three terms during the year:

The last sitting of each term will be held on the last Thursday of the month. Therefore, the last sitting of the first session should be held on Thursday. If the term is not extended, after a two-week recess, the next term will begin on May 16. It will be the first session of the second term.

The Waste Management Bill, which was passed by parliament in November, became a law and the state has now started levying a tax of MVR 2 per plastic bag from April 15.

With this change, there is now a tax on polythene bags, both in buying bags and for the bags involved during shopping. With this, the price of bags sold by wholesale shops has gone up manifold and people are worried about the increase in the cost of dumping waste.