Worst and best performing MPs - report
MEMBERS of Parliament on average attended 23 out of the 89 plenary sittings between May 2006 and May 2007, according to a survey. “Some attended just one or two sittings and some never attended at all in the whole year, although they received their pay,†the survey by the Kampala-based Africa Le
EXCLUSIVE
By Felix Osike
and David Mukhooli
MEMBERS of Parliament on average attended 23 out of the 89 plenary sittings between May 2006 and May 2007, according to a survey. “Some attended just one or two sittings and some never attended at all in the whole year, although they received their pay,†the survey by the Kampala-based Africa Leadership Institute states.
The report titled “Parliamentary scorecard 2006-2007: Assessing the performance of Uganda’s legislators, also says that committees’ attendance rates were low at about 37%. The survey covers the first year of the Eighth Parliament, which was sworn in on May 7, 2006.
The findings were based on data analysed over the past year by the institute, a public policy think tank.
“It is important for voters to be able to follow the performance of their MPs,†the executive chairman, David Pulkol, said.
“We are setting an important precedent, an example that we hope civil society leaders in other countries both in Africa and beyond will find inspiring and useful.â€
The report to be launched tomorrow at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, assesses the MPs’ performance on attendance of plenary committee sessions and the effectiveness of their participation in the debates.
“We measure participation in the plenary session by counting the total number of lines spoken by an MP as recorded in the Hansard,†said the report.
Influence is weighed by tracking an MP’s contribution to the outcome of the debate and the number of responses and reactions from other legislators.
The major difference in the performance of MPs is individual and not according to political parties.
The Leader of Opposition, Prof. Ogenga Latigo, (FDC Agago county), tops the list. He is followed by NRM’s James Kubeketerya, William Nsubuga, Henry Banyenzaki and Fred Jachan-Omach Mandiri.
Some of the highest scoring MPs in Parliament were backbenchers, led by Kubeketerya. He is followed by Banyenzaki, Nsubuga, Lubega and Byanyima, Emmanuel Dombo and independent William Oketcho.
NRM’s Edward Baliddawa was top performer in the committee session, followed by Peter Nyombi, an independent.
The MPs who were unimpressive during the period under review attended less than 10 of the 89 plenary sessions.
NRM’s Anthony Mukasa of Buikwe South and Pius Mujuzi of Kyotera county were absent throughout.
Rhoda Acen (FDC, Woman Amuria), UPC’s Moses Apilliga, NRM’s Simon Ejua, Owor Otada of Vurra and Kibanda attended four sittings. NRM’s Ali Sekyanzi (Bamunanika) attended six meetings. Lubyayi Iddi Kisiki (Bukomasimbi), an independent, was present during eight sittings.
NRM’s Kiboga MP Ndawula Kaweesi and Peter Bakaluba Mukasa of Mukono North attended seven and nine sittings respectively. Two independents Caroline Okao Amali turned up for nine, while Concy Aciro was present for 10 sittings.
The report, however, notes that in one-third of cases, MPs were not awarded an overall grade for their work in committee meetings.
“This arises in cases in which, despite our efforts, it was impossible to gather data on an MP’s committee attendance or participation,†said the report.
It said in some cases, this was because committees did not maintain attendance records.
“In other cases, these records may have been kept but were not systematically filed.â€
This is the second parliamentary performance score card carried out by the institute. The first report assessing the 7th parliament was released in the run-up to the 2006 elections.
Appraising Parliament is aimed at providing Ugandans with accurate, objective and comprehensive information on elected leaders on an annual basis.
The report also points out that while the ministers, state ministers and party leaders performed better due to their particular role in plenary debates, some backbenchers scored very highly. On average, male MPs performed better than their female counterparts.
“However, many individual women did extremely well and among those elected by universal adult suffrage, women performed better than men on many measures,†the report adds.
There were also important differences among MPs based on how they assumed their seats. “MPs elected through universal adult suffrage performed particularly well, those elected to represent special interests did less well and MPs that represent the army performed especially poorly,†the report states.
While ex-officio and universal adult suffrage and workers MPs strongly influenced the progress of debate in Parliament, youth and UPDF members did not influence the plenary debate.
Commenting on the findings, Gulu district chairman, Norbert Mao, said: “These results demonstrate once again the need for Ugandan civil society to monitor the actions of the legislature. It is good to know that the watchdogs are also being watched.â€
MPs who were aware of the project performed 50% better than the ones who were not.
“These results point to the potential impact of this project and initiatives like it,†said the executive director of the institute, Oscar Okech Kanyangareng.
By Felix Osike
and David Mukhooli
MEMBERS of Parliament on average attended 23 out of the 89 plenary sittings between May 2006 and May 2007, according to a survey. “Some attended just one or two sittings and some never attended at all in the whole year, although they received their pay,†the survey by the Kampala-based Africa Leadership Institute states.
The report titled “Parliamentary scorecard 2006-2007: Assessing the performance of Uganda’s legislators, also says that committees’ attendance rates were low at about 37%. The survey covers the first year of the Eighth Parliament, which was sworn in on May 7, 2006.
The findings were based on data analysed over the past year by the institute, a public policy think tank.
“It is important for voters to be able to follow the performance of their MPs,†the executive chairman, David Pulkol, said.
“We are setting an important precedent, an example that we hope civil society leaders in other countries both in Africa and beyond will find inspiring and useful.â€
The report to be launched tomorrow at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, assesses the MPs’ performance on attendance of plenary committee sessions and the effectiveness of their participation in the debates.
“We measure participation in the plenary session by counting the total number of lines spoken by an MP as recorded in the Hansard,†said the report.
Influence is weighed by tracking an MP’s contribution to the outcome of the debate and the number of responses and reactions from other legislators.
The major difference in the performance of MPs is individual and not according to political parties.
The Leader of Opposition, Prof. Ogenga Latigo, (FDC Agago county), tops the list. He is followed by NRM’s James Kubeketerya, William Nsubuga, Henry Banyenzaki and Fred Jachan-Omach Mandiri.
Some of the highest scoring MPs in Parliament were backbenchers, led by Kubeketerya. He is followed by Banyenzaki, Nsubuga, Lubega and Byanyima, Emmanuel Dombo and independent William Oketcho.
NRM’s Edward Baliddawa was top performer in the committee session, followed by Peter Nyombi, an independent.
The MPs who were unimpressive during the period under review attended less than 10 of the 89 plenary sessions.
NRM’s Anthony Mukasa of Buikwe South and Pius Mujuzi of Kyotera county were absent throughout.
Rhoda Acen (FDC, Woman Amuria), UPC’s Moses Apilliga, NRM’s Simon Ejua, Owor Otada of Vurra and Kibanda attended four sittings. NRM’s Ali Sekyanzi (Bamunanika) attended six meetings. Lubyayi Iddi Kisiki (Bukomasimbi), an independent, was present during eight sittings.
NRM’s Kiboga MP Ndawula Kaweesi and Peter Bakaluba Mukasa of Mukono North attended seven and nine sittings respectively. Two independents Caroline Okao Amali turned up for nine, while Concy Aciro was present for 10 sittings.
The report, however, notes that in one-third of cases, MPs were not awarded an overall grade for their work in committee meetings.
“This arises in cases in which, despite our efforts, it was impossible to gather data on an MP’s committee attendance or participation,†said the report.
It said in some cases, this was because committees did not maintain attendance records.
“In other cases, these records may have been kept but were not systematically filed.â€
This is the second parliamentary performance score card carried out by the institute. The first report assessing the 7th parliament was released in the run-up to the 2006 elections.
Appraising Parliament is aimed at providing Ugandans with accurate, objective and comprehensive information on elected leaders on an annual basis.
The report also points out that while the ministers, state ministers and party leaders performed better due to their particular role in plenary debates, some backbenchers scored very highly. On average, male MPs performed better than their female counterparts.
“However, many individual women did extremely well and among those elected by universal adult suffrage, women performed better than men on many measures,†the report adds.
There were also important differences among MPs based on how they assumed their seats. “MPs elected through universal adult suffrage performed particularly well, those elected to represent special interests did less well and MPs that represent the army performed especially poorly,†the report states.
While ex-officio and universal adult suffrage and workers MPs strongly influenced the progress of debate in Parliament, youth and UPDF members did not influence the plenary debate.
Commenting on the findings, Gulu district chairman, Norbert Mao, said: “These results demonstrate once again the need for Ugandan civil society to monitor the actions of the legislature. It is good to know that the watchdogs are also being watched.â€
MPs who were aware of the project performed 50% better than the ones who were not.
“These results point to the potential impact of this project and initiatives like it,†said the executive director of the institute, Oscar Okech Kanyangareng.