Premier warns rebellious legislators
May 31, 2009
THE Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, has warned MPs who defy their party positions in Parliament of expulsion and loss of seats.
By Chris Ocowun
THE Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, has warned MPs who defy their party positions in Parliament of expulsion and loss of seats.
He added that defiant MPs would be denied facilitation by the party and could be suspended from caucus meetings.
Speaking at a parliamentary outreach forum at Acholi Inn in Gulu on Friday, Nsibamabi noted improvements since Uganda moved from a Movement to a multi-party system of governance.
“We have a leader of the opposition in Parliament (Ogenga Latigo), who is accorded the status of a Cabinet minister,†he said.
“In order to ensure that MPs take a party position before a Bill is presented to Parliament, they are discussed in the various caucuses,†he explained in a speech read by the state minister for northern Uganda, David Wakikona.
He noted cases where NRM and opposition MPs had defied the party positions in Parliament.
The MPs have argued that their moral obligations are more important than party positions, adding that party positions undermine the interests of their constituencies, Nsibambi said.
“We have been counselling these indisciplined MPs to obey their party positions,†he disclosed without naming names.
The Speaker of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, said they would come up with more programmes to make Parliament accountable.
“We shall design activities like a parliamentary week, where the public will visit Parliament, where topical issues will be discussed once a year,†he told the meeting attended by local leaders from West Nile, Lango, Acholi and Karamoja.
Ssekandi, who was flanked by his deputy, Rebecca Kadaga, encouraged local leaders to understand how Parliament functions.
“I expect my colleagues, the district speakers, to always stick to the rules of procedure, which guide you while presiding over your councils,†he advised.
The Gulu community services secretary, Santa Oketta, urged the leaders to address poverty in the north. “Women are breadwinners because the men got frustrated during the LRA insurgency. They became addicted to waragi and they cannot help their families,†he said.
THE Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, has warned MPs who defy their party positions in Parliament of expulsion and loss of seats.
He added that defiant MPs would be denied facilitation by the party and could be suspended from caucus meetings.
Speaking at a parliamentary outreach forum at Acholi Inn in Gulu on Friday, Nsibamabi noted improvements since Uganda moved from a Movement to a multi-party system of governance.
“We have a leader of the opposition in Parliament (Ogenga Latigo), who is accorded the status of a Cabinet minister,†he said.
“In order to ensure that MPs take a party position before a Bill is presented to Parliament, they are discussed in the various caucuses,†he explained in a speech read by the state minister for northern Uganda, David Wakikona.
He noted cases where NRM and opposition MPs had defied the party positions in Parliament.
The MPs have argued that their moral obligations are more important than party positions, adding that party positions undermine the interests of their constituencies, Nsibambi said.
“We have been counselling these indisciplined MPs to obey their party positions,†he disclosed without naming names.
The Speaker of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, said they would come up with more programmes to make Parliament accountable.
“We shall design activities like a parliamentary week, where the public will visit Parliament, where topical issues will be discussed once a year,†he told the meeting attended by local leaders from West Nile, Lango, Acholi and Karamoja.
Ssekandi, who was flanked by his deputy, Rebecca Kadaga, encouraged local leaders to understand how Parliament functions.
“I expect my colleagues, the district speakers, to always stick to the rules of procedure, which guide you while presiding over your councils,†he advised.
The Gulu community services secretary, Santa Oketta, urged the leaders to address poverty in the north. “Women are breadwinners because the men got frustrated during the LRA insurgency. They became addicted to waragi and they cannot help their families,†he said.