Truant MPs in Colombia to be hit in their pocketbooks

A parliamentary crisis is ripening in Colombia. At that, the matter is not one of politics, but rather of just laziness: less and less MPs turn up at work. As a result, the lower house’s activity is virtually paralized. Due to a lack of MPs, taking decisions on even minor issues is being delayed for an uncertain time. The country’s authorities have decided to act radically. From now on, truant deputies will be fined in the hope that financial punishment will force them to return to writing bills.

To control the attendance in the Colombian lower house of parliament, a special body has been set up at Colomia’s General Controlling Chamber. The group members are supposed to maintain deputy lists (hopefully, they will not go as far as making roll-calls). Depending on their attendance record, the deputies will be getting (or not getting) their monthly wages.

In all, there are 102 senators and 263 members of the House of Representatives in Colombia. News agencies did not elaborate on how many MPs are facing a financial loss as a result of the above innovations.

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2001/11/17/33932.html