I can't be intimidated says Kadaga

By Henry Mukasa

The Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga Thursday said she cannot buckle under pressure or be intimidated by the President to abandon Parliament decisions in favour of those of the executive.

The Speaker, commenting about her meeting with President Yoweri Museveni over a deadlock on the national budget on Wednesday, observed that although the three arms of government interact freely the legislature maintains its independence.

"Don't be worried over the meeting I had with the President. Don't interpret it as a fight. I was not boxed in a corner," Kadaga responded downplaying the interface as a mere "meeting" and not a "summon."

The President Wednesday held a meeting with the Speaker, the Minister of Health, Dr. Christine Ondoa and the chairperson of the budget committee, Tim Lwanga in a bid to find a solution to MPs demand for additional Sh260b for the health sector.

According to Lwanga, the President told the meeting at state House, Nakasero; "we should ensure building of the production line than spending on consumables," he reportedly said. Lwanga adds; "This left me in no doubt and I think that is the right direction," Lwanga said after the meeting.

The Ministry of Health, he said, was also directed to bring a list of all hospitals in the country during a meeting they are yet to have with the Ministry of Finance and the budget committee to harmonise their positions on the sector budget. The ministry was asked to show how the Sh39.2b identified by the budget committee for the sector would be utilised.

The meeting was also attended by the Vice president, Edward Sekandi, Lwanga said. He was optimistic that a solution would have been found.

On Tuesday, Kadaga had directed the Government and the budget committee to sit together and harmonize their positions on the budget and report back to Parliament yesterday (Wednesday). This was after MPs failed to agree with what the Prime Minister and Leader of government business in Parliament, Amama Mbabazi had presented in his statement to the House.

At the start of business yesterday, Kadaga communicated to Parliament that the two sides had not finished their consultations. She said the item will be put on the order paper today (Thursday).

The NRM Parliamentary Caucus is having a meeting today (Thursday) morning in the conference hall to chart a way forward.

As Lwanga met and others met the President, the budget committee held a meeting where members agreed that he (Lwanga) should not chair the committee when he comes back from State House because he would have been influenced, MP Pastrick Mulindwa, a member said.

The members, he said, also agreed to uphold their earlier position on the additional Sh39.2b which they had identified for the sector budget. "We want government to provide the balance of Sh260b in for of supplementary budget," Mulindwa said.

Premier Mbabazi on Tuesday urged the House not to approve the committee's proposed areas of cuts attached to their report.

He said the proposed cut on the budget of Ministry of Defence of Sh15b will jeopardise national security. He said the cut on the statutory vote of the Electoral Commission as well as the statutory expenditure of Uganda Bureau of statistics is against the law.

Meanwhile, Civil Society Organisations on Rights for Health petitioned Parliament over the heath sector budget. The Petition was presented on the floor by Dr. Jeremiah Twa-Twa (NRM) on their behalf.

The petitioners asked Parliament to prevail upon the Executive find the Sh260b for recruitment and enhancement of facilitation for professional health workers. They urged the government to recruit at least 2,000 health workers especially midwives.

They warned that "currently, Uganda's health sector exhibits signs of a crisis waiting to explode." They observed that for a country to deliver basic health care to its people, it requires a fully functional health system.

Earlier in the day, the CSOs held a meeting with MPs at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala and agreed that when voting on the matter comes up on the floor of Parliament it should be done by show of hands.

Last week, the Coalition to Stop Maternal mortality in Uganda also petitioned the speaker over the health budget.