Roadblocks ahead of the regional tier deal
Feb 20, 2005
THERE has been mixed reaction to the political deal, clinched between the Government and kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro Kitara, Tooro and Busoga, relating to the establishment of the regional governments.
John Kakande
THERE has been mixed reaction to the political deal, clinched between the Government and kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro Kitara, Tooro and Busoga, relating to the establishment of the regional governments.
Some Baganda federalists have dismissed the proposed regional government as yet another ‘Byoya bya nswa’ (hollow). The Conservative Party faction led by MPs Nsubuga Nsambu and Ken Lukyamuzi described the deal as hollow and something not worth celebrating. The reaction of the other opposition parties – the Uganda People’s Congress, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and Democratic Party has been either muted or cynical.
The FDC spokesperson, Wafula Oguttu charged that President Museveni was dangling federo to Buganda to get support for a term. One federalist stated that the deal was “a devil meant to make things worse than they already are.â€
It is no secret that President Museveni’s relations with Mengo have been increasingly getting frosty since 1995, when the Constitution was promulgated. Mengo was angered by the Movement’s opposition to federo in the Constituent Assembly.
In 1996 a section of the Mengo officials, who included Duncan Kafeero, campaigned for Paul Ssemogerere during the presidential elections. Again in 2001, during the presidential elections, a number of Mengo officials campaigned for Col. Dr Kizza Besigye. One of the key campaign issues, which the opposition exploited to gain support in Buganda in both the 1996 and 2001 presidential elections, was the region’s quest for a federal status. In view of this, it isn’t surprising that President Museveni has devoted a lot of time to reach an agreement with Mengo ahead of the forthcoming presidential elections. For the Movement, this deal with Mengo is undisputedly a major victory.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the reaction of the opposition parties has been either muted or cynical. The deal puts the opposition in an awkward situation.
Furthermore, now that Mengo has endorsed the regional government deal, the opposition cannot afford to torpedo it in Parliament during the consideration of the Constitutional Amendment Bill. And if the parliamentary rules are changed to introduce open voting instead of secret ballot, it would be even harder for MPs, particularly those from Buganda, including Lukyamuzi and Nsambu, to vote against the regional government amendment.
Voting against the amendment would be perceived as sabotage and therefore quite risky for any Buganda MP. But it is the Movement that would gain political capital when the amendment is passed.
Although what is proposed isn’t a fully-fledged federal system, it should be appreciated that the proposed regional government is a major breakthrough in political terms. Each side has made significant concessions.
But the proposed regional government has some serious shortcomings and the Mengo leadership faces a hard task to sell it to the hard-line federalists, who see it as capitulation. For one thing, the regional government will be perpetually dependant on the central government financially. It is not clear also how the regional government would relate to the districts and other lower local governments. The provision that the regional government will be under the President’s Office while rest of local governments are answerable to the ministry of local government is bound to create serious confusion.
Government has a difficult task convincing Parliament to endorse the regional government deal. Although the Movement has a comfortable majority in the House, it should not be taken for granted that whatever the President agreed on with Mengo would be acceptable.
Any amendment to provide for regional government will require ratification by the district councils. Two-thirds of the district councils will have to pass resolutions approving the amendment for the regional government.
The resolutions must be supported by two-thirds of the councilors in each of the district councils. The government may have an uphill task to get requisite number of district councils.
Even if all the district councils from Buganda, Busoga, Tooro and Bunyoro voted in favour of the amendment, they would still be far short of the required number. It would require at least another 12 additional districts to vote for the amendment for it to stand. This could prove a real nightmare for the government!
THERE has been mixed reaction to the political deal, clinched between the Government and kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro Kitara, Tooro and Busoga, relating to the establishment of the regional governments.
Some Baganda federalists have dismissed the proposed regional government as yet another ‘Byoya bya nswa’ (hollow). The Conservative Party faction led by MPs Nsubuga Nsambu and Ken Lukyamuzi described the deal as hollow and something not worth celebrating. The reaction of the other opposition parties – the Uganda People’s Congress, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and Democratic Party has been either muted or cynical.
The FDC spokesperson, Wafula Oguttu charged that President Museveni was dangling federo to Buganda to get support for a term. One federalist stated that the deal was “a devil meant to make things worse than they already are.â€
It is no secret that President Museveni’s relations with Mengo have been increasingly getting frosty since 1995, when the Constitution was promulgated. Mengo was angered by the Movement’s opposition to federo in the Constituent Assembly.
In 1996 a section of the Mengo officials, who included Duncan Kafeero, campaigned for Paul Ssemogerere during the presidential elections. Again in 2001, during the presidential elections, a number of Mengo officials campaigned for Col. Dr Kizza Besigye. One of the key campaign issues, which the opposition exploited to gain support in Buganda in both the 1996 and 2001 presidential elections, was the region’s quest for a federal status. In view of this, it isn’t surprising that President Museveni has devoted a lot of time to reach an agreement with Mengo ahead of the forthcoming presidential elections. For the Movement, this deal with Mengo is undisputedly a major victory.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the reaction of the opposition parties has been either muted or cynical. The deal puts the opposition in an awkward situation.
Furthermore, now that Mengo has endorsed the regional government deal, the opposition cannot afford to torpedo it in Parliament during the consideration of the Constitutional Amendment Bill. And if the parliamentary rules are changed to introduce open voting instead of secret ballot, it would be even harder for MPs, particularly those from Buganda, including Lukyamuzi and Nsambu, to vote against the regional government amendment.
Voting against the amendment would be perceived as sabotage and therefore quite risky for any Buganda MP. But it is the Movement that would gain political capital when the amendment is passed.
Although what is proposed isn’t a fully-fledged federal system, it should be appreciated that the proposed regional government is a major breakthrough in political terms. Each side has made significant concessions.
But the proposed regional government has some serious shortcomings and the Mengo leadership faces a hard task to sell it to the hard-line federalists, who see it as capitulation. For one thing, the regional government will be perpetually dependant on the central government financially. It is not clear also how the regional government would relate to the districts and other lower local governments. The provision that the regional government will be under the President’s Office while rest of local governments are answerable to the ministry of local government is bound to create serious confusion.
Government has a difficult task convincing Parliament to endorse the regional government deal. Although the Movement has a comfortable majority in the House, it should not be taken for granted that whatever the President agreed on with Mengo would be acceptable.
Any amendment to provide for regional government will require ratification by the district councils. Two-thirds of the district councils will have to pass resolutions approving the amendment for the regional government.
The resolutions must be supported by two-thirds of the councilors in each of the district councils. The government may have an uphill task to get requisite number of district councils.
Even if all the district councils from Buganda, Busoga, Tooro and Bunyoro voted in favour of the amendment, they would still be far short of the required number. It would require at least another 12 additional districts to vote for the amendment for it to stand. This could prove a real nightmare for the government!