Senate resumes after 7-week recess, bars journalists from plenary

 

Journalists on Tuesday had a hard time covering the activities of the senate.

 

The session is the first since the senate resumed after a seven-week recess.

 

The legislators alongside their counterparts in the house of representatives had adjourned for recess on July 27.

 

About two weeks into the break, maintenance work commenced on the “white house”, the area known for accommodating the house of representatives and senate chambers.

 

The main dome of the national assembly leaks anytime there is a downpour.

 

Also, both chambers have recorded instances of faulty microphones.

 

At the commencement of Tuesday’s session, reporters were sent out of hearing room 022, the temporary sitting area of the red chamber, leaving just some cameramen of television stations.

 

Some reporters expressed concerns that only sketchy details would emanate from the session that was closed to a majority of them.

 

“It is clear that they did not make provisions for journalists,” one journalist said.

 

The official social media channels — Twitter, Facebook and YouTube — of the upper legislative chamber are inoperative.