Task ahead For President Museveni within parliament

By Charles Okecha

The anxieties surrounding the 2016 general elections will finally vanish, after needless hassles by those we assumed were well conversant with the law.

The swearing-in ceremony with entailed Oaths of Office and Allegiance; meticulous reception of instruments of power before witnesses of many foreign Heads of State and dignitaries exposed the folly of the comedian defiant opposition that conducted a solo-botched parallel one. No other entity in the land is mandated to declare the commencement of the term of office of an elected president apart from the Chief Justice.

Opposition politicians some of whom won elective positions like the mayor were bamboozled and entangled in this shameful comedy.

Legal minds in Uganda should spearhead discussions on all platforms and purge out political fanaticism which leads to time wasting and puts our country at the risk of unrest again.

Orientation of Parliament

Swearing in of the 10th Parliament will take place early in the coming week. But this should not guarantee the immediate start of plenary sessions because there are many pointers that depict Parliament is in a wanting state.

Last week while the American-based New Vision writer Dr. Opiyo Oloya highlighted several duties that call for vigilance in Parliament he thanked the Speaker for permitting him to have a session with them touching the hazards of GMO use.

Surprisingly this occurred after he wrote many articles on the national paper about the same in plain simple easy-to- read English. We expected our legislators who are facilitated with newspapers, ipads and internet facilities to have thoroughly read his articles and researched on the respective casualty nations within the continent like Sudan and South Africa among others but apparently they didn't. If time, space and energy will continually be squandered on issues that should have been solved quickly, when will this country develop?

Africans in general are often found victims of two forms of illiteracy. The first being inability to communicate fully in an official language in reading and writing but the second one is a subtle form called secondary illiteracy.

Majority of the educated are victims of this and find it hard to read/write steadfastly after completing college and more so after getting jobs. They are forced to study when their jobs are under threat; when seeking promotion; or to obtain additional qualifications to qualify for another job.

The bulk of newspapers delivered to government offices are not thoroughly studied by those who should and end up being used by vendors to serve stuff. Parliament is a victim of this same vice and many opinions expressed by the citizenry pass unutilised.

The advent of social media has made matters worse as more time is spent on electronic media which eventually creates bias about printed information which is far better and can be filed for quick reference.

Besides, the minimum requirement that a parliamentary contestant can be eligible for election upon acquiring a UACE certificate needs to be revised. This is because there are many people ignorant about matters of politics and governance and the decorum required and yet can win elections through malpractices like voter bribery, clan/tribal/religious sectarianism.

It is the primary reason the aftermath of some parliamentary and local elections were marred by violence in some regions. During nominations, districts may be urged to exchange vetting teams to ensure that those who hold rallies do not spread poisonous divisions amongst communities.

Failure to prepare legislators for parliament creates a lacuna for recurrence of past misconduct and emergence of new ones turning it into a house of chaos instead.

Furthermore, scandalous stories published in tabloids tend to consume a lot of time and attention as readers peruse through the same things but paraphrased. For the case of parliament when time comes to discuss matters of national value/interest some are already exhausted by these sidetracking stories.

Absenteeism in Parliament calls for disciplinary action because it must not seek separation of powers to abuse its roles and authority. How can you remove a speck in the eye of a teacher who attends to only 50 pupils, when you have failed to remove the log of neglecting 35 million Ugandans?

The president should tirelessly caution MPs against wayward lifestyles, some of which should attract immediate disciplinary action before situations degenerate into shameful imprisonment or death from involvement with drugs, STDs, reckless driving and non -communicable diseases.

This will reduce Uganda's legislator mortality/morbidity which ranks highest in the whole world basing on past statistics from cost of treatment abroad, cost of state burials and so forth.

For God and my country.

The writer is a teacher in Mbale.