Parliament Press asks gov't to scrap OTT

SOCIAL MEDIA|PRESS FREEDOM

Vision Group's senior journalist Moses Mulondo was last Friday declared re-elected unopposed as president of Uganda Parliamentary Press Association (UPPA).

In his speech, after he had been re-elected, Mulondo appealed to President Yoweri Museveni and the ICT ministry to ensure the Communications Tribunal is established to handle cases of professional misconduct.

"The UCC ACT which was enacted in 2013 provides for the establishment of the Communications Tribunal which is supposed to be headed by a judge. But seven years down the road, the president is yet to constitute the tribunal.  In the absence of the tribunal, we now have the problem of UCC acting as the complainant, the prosecutor, and the judge. And that is why UCC is often implicated as one of the state agencies that violate press freedom," Mulondo said.

Mulondo, who holds a degree in Mass Communication and a Masters in Business Communication from Makerere University, also implored government to scrap Over the Top Tax (OTT) to enable more Ugandans to access the internet for learning purposes and for accessing vital information to enable them make informed decisions.

"All economically progressive countries discourage taxes like OTT which limit access to internet. Uganda was the first African country to introduce that kind of tax followed by Zambia. The third country was Benin, which tried to introduce a similar tax but people protested and their government dropped it. In Uganda, OTT brought down access to internet from 47% to 34%. Since we are going to have scientific elections with media platforms as main avenues for candidates to interact with voters, scrapping OTT would enable millions of Ugandans to access information about candidates on the social media platforms," he said.

What transpired at the nomination?
The UPPA Electoral Commission chairman, Isaac SSenabulya informed members in the Parliament Conference Hall that at the end of the nominations, Mulondo remained unopposed.

Francis Lubega, a Radio Sapientia journalist, who had initially declared plans to contest with Mulondo, later withdrew from the race and decided to contest for the position of Vice President where he went through, unopposed.

Lubega explained to the members that since Mulondo had served members diligently and honestly, several colleagues had approached him and asked him to allow Mulondo serve for one more term to complete the unfinished business.

Members of the new executive include Apollo Tusiime of Salt Media as Secretary General, Charles Mugerwa of CBS as treasurer, Damali Mukhaye of Daily Monitor as the organizing and publicity secretary (Spokesperson), Rose Kasigwa of Radio Paidha as the secretary for discipline (Chief Whip), Nickson BBaale of Channel 44 as secretary for welfare, Joweria Namagembe of Voice of Africa as secretary for women and Steven Turyarugayo of New Vision as deputy secretary general.

Other members representing the media category include: Paul Kiwuuwa representing print media,  Godfrey Ssali of radio one representing radio, Hanifah Samula  of Kingdom TV representing television, Nasser Kasozi representing online .The new team will be sworn in on October 30.

Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga will grace the ceremony. Lubega cautioned Police to desist from manhandling journalists while they are on duty informing the masses.

Tusiime implored the managers of media houses to reinstate the journalists who had lost their jobs, due to COVID-19 Pandemic, saying that they were financially affected.

In appreciation of what is regarded as exceptional performance, 10 of the 13 members of the executive were re-elected unopposed to continue serving the association.
The UPPA has organized a Public Dialogue on the Role of the Media in Promoting Free and Fair Elections this coming Friday (October 30, 2020) during which the new executive will be sworn-in with the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga as the Chief Guest.

Eminent media scholars, the Civil Society, the Uganda Electoral Commission, the minister for ICT and National Guidance Judith Nabakooba, development partners among others have been invited to participate in the debate.