While the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF) Bill has been re-introduced to Parliament, the legislature is now seeking public opinion on the bill and will accept public feedback via email to the Public Accounts Committee or regular mail to the Parliamentary Secretariat.
Deadline for submission of comments or amendments is set as 9 July at 2 PM.
The SDF was originally established under the Finance Act to reduce and better mange the state’s debt burden with receipts from airport development fees and cross subsidies.
The first bill to give legal authority to the fund was introduced as part of the administration’s first 100-day roadmap, Week 14. However, the majority opposition 19th sessions of Parliament voted against the bill — no administration-aligned members were present when the bill was put to the vote.
The bill was then re-introduced, without any changes, to the new 20th sessions of Parliament which boasts an administration-aligned supermajority.
The Bill includes provisions for the establishment of a governing committee to oversee the fund, where deposits can be sourced from, the circumstances under which it can be used, and the procedures to be followed in investing with the funds.
