Movt Hands Report To CRC

By Alfred Wasike
THE Movement has finally recommended to the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) that political space be opened up.

It says there are concerns that there is “a minority of Ugandans who feel forcibly conscripted into a system they do not believe in.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, these positions came from very hot debates. It was violent. There was so much opposition to the liberalisation of political space that it took the chairman (President Museveni) three days to cool the delegates down. I want to underscore the importance of the National Conference because it is very representative of Uganda. We shall continue to champion Movement values,” Dr Crispus Kiyonga, the National Political Commissar and Minister without Portfolio, told the CRC yesterday.

He presented a resolution from the March 2003 National Conference of the Movement calling for the lifting of the restrictions on the tenure of the president to two terms.

Stressing that the Movement will not become a political party, Kiyonga said Museveni had appointed a special taskforce of 13-20 members chaired by Hon Khiddu Makubuya, education and sports minister.

The task force is to study the legal, constitutional and institutional implications of the resolution on liberalising the political space.

It will deliver its findings to the chairman in about a month. It is an in-house committee.
Accompanied by the Movement Secretariat directors, Cranmer Kalinda, Margaret Oumo and Raphael Baku, Kiyonga said Museveni had also appointed a special cabinet committee chaired by justice and constitutional affairs minister Janat Mukwaya.

The committee is to collect views from individual cabinet members and harmonise them.
Lashing out at the Movement’s local opposition for its ‘complete lack of patriotism’, Kiyonga said Museveni had also set up another team chaired by him (Kiyonga) to bring dialogue with such groups as Reform Agenda and others.

“We note that the Movement political system is the best system for a non-industrial society like Uganda. We are convinced of the need for the Movement to purify itself in order to be more efficient. We are aware that opening up political space for political parties and organisations will enhance our relations with our development partners,” he said.

Kiyonga said the overwhelming majority of memoranda from the district Movement committees, submissions by district chairpersons and other delegates called for the lifting of the restriction on the tenure of the office of the President.

“The National Conference with thousands of representatives from the grass-root resolved that the restriction on the terms of the of President under Article 105 of the Constitution be lifted by deleting Clause (2). The delegates resolved that necessary amendments be pursued through the constitutional review process,” he said.

Explaining the new attitude of the Movement leadership, Kiyonga said, “We noted that a significant number of Ugandans, about 20%, have voted against us. We noted that although the Movement is the best system for Uganda, there are inefficiencies like MPs and other elected leaders undermining it from inside. They are now free to go. This is purification. But we hope that at the end of the day, Ugandans will retain the option of returning to the Movement and continue building their country.”

Kiyonga said the Movement “is committed to respecting the will of Ugandans in their choice.”

He said, “I have heard certain skeptics who loosely argue that the referendum on the political system is a violation of inherent or basic rights. That is nonsense. We are not voting on whether they should eat or not.”
Ends