House of Reps shuts down temporary committees for missing deadlines

The House of Representatives has shut down all its temporary committees. This follows their failure to finish their work and submit reports on time as required by the House rules.

The announcement came in a circular signed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Sidi Ibrahim. The circular was sent to all chairmen and members of the temporary committees.

The circular stated that the shutdown took effect on Friday, 28 August.

The Clerk explained that this decision came after previous reminders from the House. They had urged the committees to finish their work and submit reports according to the established rules of the House.

"After those reminders, only two temporary committees asked for and received extra time to finish their work. They were given a two-week extension, which has now passed," the circular said.

The House noted that temporary committees are set up for specific tasks and timeframes. They should not last longer than necessary for the jobs they were created for.

The circular pointed out Order Eighteen, Rule 11, Paragraph 5 of the House rules. This rule states that committees must submit their reports within the time they are given.

"Since the time has passed, the continued existence of the temporary committees cannot be justified," Mr Ibrahim said.

As a result, the House ordered that all work done under the affected committees should stop immediately.

The chairmen of these committees must send all unfinished reports, documents, records, and other materials related to their tasks to the Clerk’s Office for safekeeping.

This is not the first time the House has acted against committees for not submitting reports on time. On 9 October 2025, the House warned standing committees to submit reports on pending bills within one week. Failure to do so would lead to them being discharged from their tasks.

This step was part of the House leadership's plan to make sure committees follow timelines for their work.

The House followed through on this warning. On 29 October 2025, it discharged several standing committees from their legislative duties after they failed to submit reports on time.

The House reminded committees with outstanding tasks again on 28 January 2026. This showed their ongoing concern about delays in legislative work.

This latest directive specifically affects all temporary committees. Their tasks are short-term and linked to specific assignments.

This means that committees that did not finish their work or get a valid extension before the deadline cannot keep operating under their current tasks.