Govt will not extend term
Jan 20, 2005
THE Government has no desire to extend the constitutional term limit of Parliament and the transition process will be completed in time, information state minister Dr. Nsaba Buturo has said.
By Milton Olupot
THE Government has no desire to extend the constitutional term limit of Parliament and the transition process will be completed in time, information state minister Dr. Nsaba Buturo has said.
Buturo said the transition process was for the Executive and all stakeholders, including Parliament.
“The Government believes that with the cooperation of all concerned, principally, Members of Parliament, it will be possible to gain back some of the time lost while debating and consulting on the White Paper.
“It is wrong and unhelpful to make claims that the Government is delaying the process. If anything, the Government wants the process completed on time,†he said.
Members of Parliament recently said the Government was delaying the transition to multiparty politics in 2006, to extend its term in office. Addressing the Government weekly briefing yesterday, Buturo said beating the transition deadline involved many actors including Parliament. He said, “The above position notwithstanding, more important than holding elections in time is the transparency of the process.â€
He said a thorough job was more important than rushing to beat the deadline which could expose the Government to litigation by the opposition.
Buturo, flanked by the new Director for Information in the President’s Office, Kagole Kivumbi, criticised Democratic Party chief Paul Ssemogerere’s charge that President Yoweri Museveni’s failure to appoint Betty Bigombe, the chief peace mediator in the north, as minister, showed he was not serious about ending the conflict.
He said the opposition was facing serious problems of credibility, popularity, and leadership and that with the opening up of the political space, they had been caught offguard. “To divert the attention from the real challenges, they are concerning themselves with Movement matters,†he said.
Buturo also said day time load shedding would end by April.
He refuted reports that the Movement was begging for sh50b from Arab states for the 2006 elections. He said, “We are capable of mobilising money from within this country just in a day or two. There is a lot of goodwill within. Our friends are not in that position. That is why they are being cheeky,†he said.
The Weekly Observer said Museveni had written to Kuwait and Oman leaders asking for money, for what the paper called a vote-for-cash strategy.
Ends
THE Government has no desire to extend the constitutional term limit of Parliament and the transition process will be completed in time, information state minister Dr. Nsaba Buturo has said.
Buturo said the transition process was for the Executive and all stakeholders, including Parliament.
“The Government believes that with the cooperation of all concerned, principally, Members of Parliament, it will be possible to gain back some of the time lost while debating and consulting on the White Paper.
“It is wrong and unhelpful to make claims that the Government is delaying the process. If anything, the Government wants the process completed on time,†he said.
Members of Parliament recently said the Government was delaying the transition to multiparty politics in 2006, to extend its term in office. Addressing the Government weekly briefing yesterday, Buturo said beating the transition deadline involved many actors including Parliament. He said, “The above position notwithstanding, more important than holding elections in time is the transparency of the process.â€
He said a thorough job was more important than rushing to beat the deadline which could expose the Government to litigation by the opposition.
Buturo, flanked by the new Director for Information in the President’s Office, Kagole Kivumbi, criticised Democratic Party chief Paul Ssemogerere’s charge that President Yoweri Museveni’s failure to appoint Betty Bigombe, the chief peace mediator in the north, as minister, showed he was not serious about ending the conflict.
He said the opposition was facing serious problems of credibility, popularity, and leadership and that with the opening up of the political space, they had been caught offguard. “To divert the attention from the real challenges, they are concerning themselves with Movement matters,†he said.
Buturo also said day time load shedding would end by April.
He refuted reports that the Movement was begging for sh50b from Arab states for the 2006 elections. He said, “We are capable of mobilising money from within this country just in a day or two. There is a lot of goodwill within. Our friends are not in that position. That is why they are being cheeky,†he said.
The Weekly Observer said Museveni had written to Kuwait and Oman leaders asking for money, for what the paper called a vote-for-cash strategy.
Ends