THE position political parties – the Forum for Democratic Change, Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), Democratic Party (DP), the Conservative Party (CP) and Justice Forum (Jeema) have been squabbling over the formation of the Shadow cabinet. The inability of the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Prof. Latigo Ogenga, to form a Shadow cabinet for over two weeks shows the serious disagreements among the opposition parties over the issue.
UPC has declared it won’t participate in the FDC Shadow cabinet. The DP is split over the issue and different party officials have given contrasting signals.
As a matter fact the squabbling by FDC, FDC and UPC over the Shadow cabinet is due to misconception. A Shadow cabinet of the ‘Official Opposition’ is traditionally viewed as a body that would form the actual cabinet should the party win power. In the ‘1980s, some DP MPs who were in Shadow cabinet ended up in Cabinet when NRM captured power in 1986. A member of the Shadow cabinet is the critic of a specific government department or portfolio, holding the government to account on matters concerned with that sector.
Universally the opposition party with biggest number of seats is the “Official Opposition” and appoints the official Shadow cabinet. This, however, doesn’t preclude the smaller opposition parties in Parliament forming their own shadow cabinets independent of the ‘Official Opposition’. In Canada, for instance, the Shadow secretaries of the ‘Official Opposition’ are paid higher allowances than the members of the shadow cabinets of the smaller parties. Even though the parliamentary rules do not expressly provide for it, there is nothing to bar UPC and DP to appoint their own ‘unofficial’ shadow cabinets.
Is a joint opposition Shadow cabinet feasible? A joint Shadow cabinet appears attractive. There is a view that both DP and UPC would be marginalized in Parliament if they are not part of the Shadow cabinet of the ‘Official Opposition’. Members of the Shadow cabinet would obviously have more opportunities to contribute to debate in the Parliament and would probably get more media coverage. This is why some DP MPs are too keen to be part of the ‘Official Opposition’ Shadow cabinet although this won’t translate into any direct monetary benefits. Of course the members of the official Shadow cabinet could once in while be invited to travel abroad for international conferences and visits as part of the presidential or government delegations.
Nonetheless, I doubt that a joint Shadow cabinet, if established, would function effectively and smoothly. A joint opposition Shadow cabinet, in my view, would only operate coherently if the parties had a formal coalition or partnership. I suppose the members of the Shadow cabinet express the views of their party when they criticise government policies. In this situation, if you appoint MPs belonging to DP, UPC, CP and Jeema to the official Shadow cabinet, will they be expressing the views of their respective parties or the views of FDC whenever they make statements as Shadow secretaries?
For example, assuming CP MP Susan Nampijja Lukyamuzi is appointed the Shadow secretary for local government in Prof. Ogenga Latigo’s Shadow cabinet, will she be expressing the views of FDC or CP whenever she speaks as Shadow secretary?
If the other parties accept positions in the FDC Shadow cabinet, they will implicitly be inclined to toe the FDC line on policy. These MP from other opposition parties should not expect to articulate the views of their respective parties while serving as Shadow secretaries in the Prof. Latigo cabinet in a situation where opposition parties haven’t entered into a formal coalition.
