The House of Representatives has dissolved all its Ad Hoc Committees with immediate effect.

Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, issued the directive on Monday, citing the committees’ failure to submit reports within the approved timelines for their assignments.

The Speaker instructed all members of the dissolved panels to stop further activities being carried out in the name of the committees. He said the decision was necessary to restore order and ensure legislative work proceeds without avoidable delays.

According to the Clerk of the House, Dr. Sidi Ibrahim, only two of the Ad Hoc Committees had earlier been granted extensions to complete their work. He, however, noted that the two-week extension given to those committees had also expired.

Dr. Ibrahim explained that the House leadership could no longer allow the committees to continue operating without rendering account of their assignments to the plenary.

In a circular to all chairmen and members of the affected committees, the Clerk directed them to submit all outstanding reports, working documents, memoranda and other records in their possession.

The documents, he said, should be submitted to the Office of the Clerk for proper documentation and safekeeping. He added that this would enable the House to determine the next line of action on the various matters referred to the panels.

Chairmen of the committees were further urged to cooperate fully with the Clerk’s office to ensure a seamless handover. The Clerk warned that failure to comply with the directive would be treated as a breach of House rules.

The dissolution affects all Ad Hoc Committees set up by the 10th House to investigate specific issues, conduct public hearings, and report back within stipulated periods.

With this development, any further work on the matters will now be determined by the House leadership after reviewing the reports already submitted.