26 Bills pending in Parliament â€" Kabakumba

Nov 23, 2010

A total of 26 Bills are still pending in Parliament, raising speculation that all of them will not be passed by the end of the 8th Parliament.

By Taddeo Bwambale
A total of 26 Bills are still pending in Parliament, raising speculation that all of them will not be passed by the end of the 8th Parliament.

Addressing a press conference at the Media Centre yesterday, information and national guidance minister Kabakumba Masiko revealed that it might not be possible to handle all the Bills before Parliament is dissolved in May next year.

She said MPs were busy with nominations and campaigns.

Kabakumba, however, added that the Speaker, Edward Ssekandi, had expressed his commitment to handle as many Bills as possible.

She was responding to complaints that the Government was deliberately marginalising Muslims.

The Muslims were also concerned that Parliament had delayed to pass the Khadi Courts Bill.

The Bill seeks to establish a judicial system based on the Islamic faith to handle domestic disputes among Muslims.

She said the Bill was passed by the Cabinet and that it was the responsibility of Parliament to present it for debate.

Kabakumba explained that the Government had no authority to determine the business of the House.

She asked Muslims to be patient, adding that the challenges they face such as unemployment were also faced by other communities.

Kabakumba also denied allegations that the Government manipulated the census to show Muslims as the minority community in Uganda.

She said statistics from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicate that the Muslim population had grown more than any other religious group, from 10.5% in 1991 to 12.5% in 2002.

Kabakumba also denied that the Government had ignored the controversial sale of Muslim properties, saying Uganda was a secular country, which can only mediate religious disputes within the confines of the Constitution.

She added that all Ugandans have been given equal education opportunities, regardless of their religion.

Kabakumba explained that several Muslim schools and institutions had benefited form government grants.
At the same conference, the minister defended the State House directive, restraining media houses from portraying President Yoweri Museveni as a disc jockey (DJ).

This followed the release of the President’s popular song “You Want Another Rap?”

She said some media houses were ‘over doing it’ and had failed to pick on the message of prosperity for all in the narrative rhyme.



(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});