DUE to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the National Parliament Committee has introduced a new sitting layout for Members of Parliament.
The new sitting layout with Perspex glass creates barriers among MPs during sitting times.
This was one out of three recommendations put forward by the committee. The National Parliament Committee headed by Speaker Job Pomat in a statement confirmed the three options considered by the committee which were:
- Virtual Parliament – Video Conferencing from all electorates
- Chamber Perspex – placing of glass stands, one every MP’s seat
- Relocation of sitting to Gallery – Relocation of sitting arrangement for MPs in Chamber up to the public gallery.
However, when considering the three options, the committee decided on the second option where the glass stands separates contact between MPs in the chamber.
The same measure used in the Parliaments of Singapore and Malaysia. The other two measures were considered irrelevant as the first one needed adequate network coverage to come online while the third option was seen inappropriate for MPs to be seated in the public gallery.
This was then endorsed by the committee who engaged a AR Innovations Limited company to setup the sitting layout. Prior to the installation of the perspex, a demo was conducted for the Committee to inspect and at the same time give them an opportunity to see first-hand of how the barriers looked like.
During the demo the committee also noted the measurement of the barriers between the MPs’ seats and considered a fitting glass barrier to stand between the MPS. A 60x40cm glass was approved by the committee and has been installed only on tables of each MP in the chamber.
The setup of this perspex sitting layout was prompted by the high number of parliamentary staff and MPs who contracted the Covid-19 leaving two dead.
The Clerk of Parliament and his senior management team after raising concerns about the pandemic within the parliament precinct came up with views on how best they can control and contain the spread of Covid-19 in their place of work.
Meanwhile, the Covid-19 protocols are highly observed within the precinct of the Parliament.