SIM card registration returns debate on Parliament’s power

The 10th Parliament in session recently while Rebecca Kadaga was still speaker. PHOTO BY ERIC DOMINIC BUKENYA

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Hold their ground. The determination of government to switch off unregistered SIM cards despite a Parliamentary resolution urging government for an extension, gives Parliament a wakeup call to renegotiate their relationship with the Executive, if the House wants to be seen to be relevant to grassroots’ pulses, writes Ibrahim A. Manzil.

To abide or not to abide by the resolutions of Parliament, an age-old conversation is being reignited by the Executive arm of government.
The resolutions are binding; the resolutions are not binding, is the polarising talk you hear, depending on who is telling the story.
A curios case is that of the SIM card switch deadline. Parliament in a Thursday resolution wanted it extended, but ICT minister Frank Tumwebaze did not hear nor read about the resolution.
Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, in an apparent fight for Parliament’s relevance, dragged Mr Tumwebaze to the Rules, Privileges and Discipline Committee over “contempt of Parliament”.

Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, however, maintained that Mr Tumwebaze’s views reflect the position of government, and that the minister will make a statement to the House on Tuesday.
The Executive determinedly held onto their ground, a move Bukonzo West MP Atkins Katusabe vowed will not go without “a politically fatal consequence to the minister (Tumwebaze), who will serve as an example to others in future”.
“It is Parliament and not the Executive that has the last word, it is not true that what we pass in Parliament is just advisory,” said a swearing Katusabe, who said Tuesday is Tumwebaze’s dooms day.

Mr Katusabe blames Parliament for the ignored resolutions because “we have not rolled our sleeves to stand up to the Executive”.
Parliament doesn’t follow up on passed resolutions, according to Julius Bua (NRM, Otuke), the reason why the Executive neglects most of them.
“When a resolution is passed, the problem is we begin halfway and we don’t follow up, which undermines them (resolutions),” he said.
Mr Bua may well be having a valid point, if State minister of Internal Affairs Mario Obiga Kania’s absence on the floor of Parliament on Thursday to explain the Nalufenya controversy is anything to go by.
He had been directed by the Speaker to bring a comprehensive statement on the same before Parliament, but he did not.
A deafening argument from the Executive and sympathetic MPs is that the resolutions of Parliament, if they are to be binding, will erode the constitutional role of the Executive and President by extension.

For this very divisive and confusing debate, Parliament in 2011 was dragged to the Constitutional Court by lawyer Severino Twinobusingye, who later walked out with victory and a Shs12 billion award in costs.
Mr Paul Amoru (Dokolo North) agrees that Parliament may after all simply advise government on matters clearly defined by law to be Executive’s role.
His exception is; “Different matters are addressed differently, there are resolutions that bind government and those that simply guide the Executive on what to do.”
During the heated debate on a resolution urging government to declare a state of emergency over the on-going food crisis, Speaker Kadaga was cautious, telling MPs the resolution is “simply to urge government”.

So from the argument springs a fundamental issue; that the representatives of the people, apart from legislation which is an obviously long and tedious process, influencing the action of the Executive stands constrained.
Parliament’s opinion on matters such as switching off of SIM cards, if it is merely advisory, relegates the House debates to simply road side opinion or to take it from Mr Muwanga Kivumbi (DP, Butambala), “simply making Parliament a talking shop”.
Mr Jack Wamanga (FDC, Mbale Municipality), believes that Parliament’s resolutions attracting a passing-cloud attention from the Executive is traced down to the size and quality of the legislators themselves.
“Just look at the size and quality of the MPs. Why wouldn’t our resolutions be ignored? I tell you I am one of those willing to offer my seat if that will make Parliament leaner and more efficient,” contends Mr Wamanga.
The determination of government to switch off unregistered SIM cards despite a Parliamentary resolution urging government for an extension, gives Parliament a wakeup call to renegotiate their relationship with the Executive, if the House wants to be seen to be relevant to grassroots’ pulses.

Budget estimates corrected
Just as Parliament nears the lake shores of passing the National Budget Estimates, the Executive last week introduced new changes, revising the estimates from Shs28.99 trillion to Shs29 trillion, which will have a ripple effect on the affected ministerial policy statements under review.
“It has been noted that there are some errors and or omissions in the Annual Budget Estimates, as a result, the corrigenda has been prepared to correct these errors and omissions,” wrote Secretary to the Treasury Keith Muhakanizi in a March 16 letter tabled on Thursday by junior Finance minister David Bahati.
Budget Committee chairperson Amos Lugoloobi was particularly taken aback, fearing the changes will cause re-examination of affected policy statements.
“We note that the Budget now moves to Shs29 trillion, this movement has serious implications and they need to be critically examined and my worry is that the corrigenda is going to have significant changes on policy statements,” he said.
With about 12 days to go, including weekends, Parliament will have to employ rocket-speed to approve the estimates within the confines of the Public Finance Management Act.

Torture
Parliament’s Committee on Human Rights, as directed by the Speaker, visited the infamous Nalufenya detention facility on Friday, but a communication from Parliament’s Communications Department was clear, the chairperson, Ms Jovah Kamateeka (NRM, Mitooma), is not interested in journalists’ company.
Corridor argument holds that it is police’s view that journalists do not accompany the MPs, leaving a painful guess about what is there to hide from the public.
Parliament, now on a sky-touching moral horse over the Nalufenya issue, has no point disallowing the company of journalists.
If they reached the gate and police stops the media, Parliament would be absolved, leaving the buck with police but as matters now stand, both the House and police’s script is apparently the same.