Restrictions with regard to certain financial measures.

43.- Except on the recommendation of the Governor-General signified by a Minister, the National Assembly shall not-

a) proceed upon any bill (including any amendment to a bill) that, in the opinion of the person presiding, makes provision for any of the following purposes-

i) for the imposition of taxation or the alteration of taxation otherwise than by reduction;

ii) for the imposition of any charge upon the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund of the Government or the alteration of any such charge otherwise than by reduction;

ii) for the payment, issue or withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund of the Government of any moneys not charged thereon or any increase in the amount of such payment, issue or withdrawal; or

iv) for the composition or remission of any debt due to the Crown in right of the Government; or

b) proceed upon any motion (including any amendment to a motion) the effect of which, in the opinion of the person presiding, would be to make provision for any of those purposes.

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Mode of exercise of legislative power.

42.- (1) The power of Parliament to make laws shall be exercised by bills passed by the national Assembly and assented to by the Governor-General.

(2) When a bill is submitted to the Governor-General for assent in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution he shall signify that he assents or that he withholds assent.

(3) When the Governor-General assents to a bill that has been submitted to him in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution the bill shall become law and the Governor-General shall thereupon cause it to be published in the Gazette as law.

(4) No law made by Parliament shall come into operation until it has been published in the Gazette but Parliament may postpone the coming into operation of any such law and may make laws with retrospective effect.

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Voting.

41.- (1) Save as otherwise provided in section 19(8), 37(6) or 38(2), any question proposed for decision in the National Assembly shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting:

Provided that question of no confidence in the Government shall be determined by a majority of the votes of all the Representatives.

(2) Except in the case of a question of no confidence in the Government, a question shall not be regarded as having been validly determined by a vote in the National Assembly on occasions when the numbers of members voting are recorded unless not less than three-fifths of all the members, or such greater number of members as Parliament may prescribe, take part in the voting.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), a person presiding in the Assembly shall not vote unless on any question the votes of the members are equally divided, in which case he shall have and exercise a casting vote:

Provided that in the case of the question of the final reading of any such bill as is referred to in section 38(2) he shall, if he is a Representative, have an original vote but no casting vote.

(4) A Speaker who was elected from among persons who were not members of the National Assembly shall have neither an original nor a casting vote and if upon any question before the Assembly when such a Speaker is presiding, the votes of the member are equally divided, the motion shall be lost.

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Presiding.

40.- There shall preside at any sitting of the National Assembly-

a) the Speaker.

b) in the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker; or

c) in the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, such member of the Assembly (not being a member of the Cabinet or a Parliament Secretary) as the Assembly may elect for that purpose.

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Oath.

39.- (1) Every member of the National Assembly shall, before taking his seat in the Assembly, take and subscribe before the Assembly the oath of allegiance but a member may before taking that oath take part in the election of the Speaker.

(2) Any person elected to the office of Speaker shall, if he has not already taken and subscribed the oath of allegiance under subsection (1) take and subscribe that oath before the National Assembly before entering upon the duties of his office.

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