Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has said this is the right time to heed her predecessor the late Jacob Oulanyah’s call for debate on the “Uganda we want”.

Among made the call on Monday, March 20, while marking a year since Oulanyah's death, which struck him just two days shy of his 57th birthday.

As we celebrate his legacy, she said in a tweet, it is the right time to have that debate that he so much wanted to facilitate, the debate on the "Uganda we want".

“On this day one year ago, the cold hands of death snatched from us our dear leader, brother, father and icon Rt Hon. Jacob L'okorori Oulanyah,” the Speaker tweeted.

“We celebrate his legacy and continue to be inspired by his passion for leadership of integrity, a people-centered Parliament, the spirit of “Obuntu”  (basic humanity) and always looking out for one another,” she added.

While writing in the local newspapers in September 2021, Parliament director of communications and public affairs Chris Obore commended the late Oulanyah for coming up with this proposal to get MPs to debate about “what Uganda we want and where we want it to be”.

He said since his election to the position of Speaker in May 2021, Oulanyah had poured out his heart about the need for all actors to prioritise issues that affect all citizens with a specific focus on the ordinary people.

“He challenged MPs to up their game and refocus debate in the House to make it substantive so as to leave a record that future generations will be proud of. It’s surely the way to go,” he wrote.

Obore said this debate would help Parliament modify its priorities based on minimum consensus.

“As a country, we have highlighted points of disagreement more, but it’s now necessary that we start to highlight our points of agreement too and work on them more. We need to avoid deadlock democracy where Parliament and the Executive use the principle of checks and balances to frustrate each other. It should be complementary work not competition,” he said.

He also said the people elected both the Executive and Parliament with an assignment to deliver services.

“Therefore, the arms of government have an obligation to aggregate and harmonise the interests of Ugandans. The national agenda is undoubtedly set by the Executive and that role is never delegated to other arms. However, the other arms can modify the agenda but it starts with a better understanding of the aspirations of the citizens,” he said.

Obore also explained that the debate does not mean Parliament will generate an agenda different from that of the Executive.

“The debate is simply to inform critical pathways to achieve the development agenda. The debate is an opportunity for every MP to communicate what they think is important,” he added.