The Speaker of the recently inaugurated Third Lower House yesterday officially received Parliament assets and policies from the clerk, less than a week after she rose to the position. 

Donatille Mukabalisa (Liberal Party) received the assets from the Clerk to the Chamber of Deputies, Immaculée Mukarurangwa, who had received the resources from the immediate former speaker Rose Mukantabana.

The law requires the outgoing speaker to hand over the possessions related to the House business to the clerk who, in turn, submits them to the new speaker.

"I’m pleased to deliver this package as was entrusted to me on August 14, these assets will guide the new House in its daily business,” Mukarurangwa said.

The assets include the Hansard, printed transcripts of parliamentary proceedings; a copy of the Code of Conduct of MPs; documents related to lawmakers’ immunity; Memorandums of Understanding with parliament’s partners; the House Budget implementation report; the achievements of the October 2008-August 2013 legislature, etc.

Mukabalisa, who resigned her senatorial seat to run for the Chamber of Deputies in the September polls, thanked members of the second Lower House, and pledged that the new team will pick up from where their predecessors left off. 

The previous chamber enacted 349 Bills, representing more than 90 per cent of their target.

Mukabalisa said the new parliamentarians will actively reach out to the people and collect views that will help them in their day-to-day debates and decisions. 

She said they will put country first to help deliver it to a middle-income status over the next five years as envisaged in the national development blueprint.

"Members of the public should always remember that we here to represent them,” she said.

Mukabalisa was flanked by her deputies; Jeanne d’Arc Uwimanimpaye (Women, Eastern Province; in charge of Government Oversight and Legislation) and Abbas Mukama (PDI; in charge of Finance and Administration).

The chamber, which is dominated by women, at 64 per cent, is composed of 80 members, with a five-year term.

Fifty of the members of the Third Chamber of Deputies served in the last House.

Rwanda has a bicameral Parliament, with the other chamber, the Senate, composed of 26 members, who serve for an eight-year, non-renewable term.