(VANUATU DAILY POST)—Members of Vanuatu Parliament (MPs) will convene for the first Extraordinary Session on 20 April, 2021.
Speaker of Parliament, Gracia Chadrack has summoned the Parliament as per the Constitution Article 21(2) and the Standing Order 15 of the Standing Orders of Parliament.
There are six Bills listed for discussions. These include; Bill for the Public Health (Amended); Bill for the Value Added Tax (Amended); Bill for the Tax Administration (Amended); Bill for the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions); Bill for the Citizenship (Amended) and Bill for Dangerous Drugs (Amended).
During the First Extraordinary session, the parliamentarians are also expected to debate on three written motions.
They are: Motion for Indemnity for AstraZeneca (COVID-19 vaccines), Motion for the Re-establishment and Appointment of Members to the Parliamentary Standing Committees and Motion to establish the Ad-Hoc Committee to consider the Bill for the Commercial Government Business Enterprise Act.
Meanwhile, Vanuatu health authorities are currently working on a COVID-19 vaccination plan for Vanuatu.
This was confirmed by Vanuatu health authorities.
The vaccine known as Astrazeneca is listed to be discussed when parliament meets in its extraordinary session for this year on 20 April.
The introduction of the vaccine in the country will be tabled in parliament as a motion.
The motion is the indemnity motion which is a guarantee to the factory that no legal issues will affect it if there is any negative effect of the vaccine on people’s lives in Vanuatu. On Tuesday last week, ABC International Development held a workshop on COVID-19 reporting and protecting information integrity for the mainstream media and social media.
The training aimed to equip them on how to write accurate reports on COVID-19. During the workshop, participants raised concerns about the difficulties of getting right information from health authorities.
They asked the government through the ministry of health to use media to educate people in Vanuatu on COVID-19 and its vaccine. They said that they understand that ministry and department of health have websites but the content can only be accessed by few people, especially on the islands.
