30 Apr 2013

Kiribati again plans ministry for women

3:27 pm on 30 April 2013

The president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, has moved a bill to amend the constitution in order to create a ministry for women.

A bill to that end was earlier defeated as the government failed to secure the numbers in parliament.

In presenting the bill, President Tong said he saw the need to set up such a new ministry

In a second bill brought by Mr Tong, the government wants to repeal some of the parliamentary privileges enjoyed by MPs.

According to the Kiribati Independent, Mr Tong has accused several MPs of abusing their privileges, prompting the push to remove them.