Parliament should stay accessible to the public
Jul 11, 2010
PARLIAMENT has introduced new security guidelines, restricting public access to the institution. Among other things, members of the public will be required to seek permission two days earlier from the Clerk to attend parliamentary sittings.
PARLIAMENT has introduced new security guidelines, restricting public access to the institution. Among other things, members of the public will be required to seek permission two days earlier from the Clerk to attend parliamentary sittings.
The new guidelines prohibit demonstrations at Parliament. The members of the public intending to petition Parliament must seek permission from the Sergeant-at-Arms two days before delivering the petition. Members of the public are also prohibited from holding and attending press conferences within Parliament.
The new guidelines are as a result of the recent incidents at Parliament. In May this year, the Deputy Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, suspended five opposition MPs for three sittings, citing “gross misconductâ€. The MPs are said to have deliberately attempted to disrupt the House proceedings, which was attended by many leaders of the Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC), for political purposes.
In another incident last month, a group of women belonging to the IPC, caused a fracas when they attempted to hold a demonstration within the precincts of Parliament.
The Parliament administration has a duty to guarantee security for the members to carry out their business effectively and smoothly. It isn’t proper for anyone to try to turn Parliament into a venue for political protests and demonstrations.
Nevertheless, the Parliament administration must avoid rendering the institution inaccessible to the general public. It is untenable to require members of the public to seek permission two days earlier from the Clerk in order to attend parliamentary sittings. MPs are people’s representatives.
The people they serve must have the right to freely go and observe the proceedings in the Plenary and the committees. What the administration should do is to ensure that whoever enters Parliament is thoroughly checked.
Parliament should also make it easy for media houses to carry out live telecasting of the proceedings. There should also be facilities for live streaming of the proceedings on the web. It will then be unnecessary for a big number of people to go to Parliament to listen to debates.
The new guidelines prohibit demonstrations at Parliament. The members of the public intending to petition Parliament must seek permission from the Sergeant-at-Arms two days before delivering the petition. Members of the public are also prohibited from holding and attending press conferences within Parliament.
The new guidelines are as a result of the recent incidents at Parliament. In May this year, the Deputy Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, suspended five opposition MPs for three sittings, citing “gross misconductâ€. The MPs are said to have deliberately attempted to disrupt the House proceedings, which was attended by many leaders of the Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC), for political purposes.
In another incident last month, a group of women belonging to the IPC, caused a fracas when they attempted to hold a demonstration within the precincts of Parliament.
The Parliament administration has a duty to guarantee security for the members to carry out their business effectively and smoothly. It isn’t proper for anyone to try to turn Parliament into a venue for political protests and demonstrations.
Nevertheless, the Parliament administration must avoid rendering the institution inaccessible to the general public. It is untenable to require members of the public to seek permission two days earlier from the Clerk in order to attend parliamentary sittings. MPs are people’s representatives.
The people they serve must have the right to freely go and observe the proceedings in the Plenary and the committees. What the administration should do is to ensure that whoever enters Parliament is thoroughly checked.
Parliament should also make it easy for media houses to carry out live telecasting of the proceedings. There should also be facilities for live streaming of the proceedings on the web. It will then be unnecessary for a big number of people to go to Parliament to listen to debates.