Kadaga asks Commonwealth speakers to strive for independence

The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, has called on Commonwealth parliament speakers to push for independence from the Executive, saying it will be the only way for MPs to achieve their oversight function.

Addressing the 21st Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Ms Kadaga informed the speakers that the Ugandan Parliament has been able to perform its accountability and oversight role by putting public interest before anything else.

She said: “The other effective tool that fosters independent scrutiny of Parliament on the executive can be obtained by if there is budgetary independence for Parliament without the interference from the Executive.”

The bi-annual four-day conference, which aims at maintaining, fostering and encouraging impartiality and fairness of speakers and presiding officers of parliament while promoting knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms, was attended by 44 speakers out of 51.

They gathered to discuss the role of parliamentary diplomacy in the era of globalisation, executive accountability.
While addressing the conference, Trinidad and Tobago President George Maxwell Richards also called on the speakers to emphasis the oversight role of parliament, saying it is critical to the governance structure in countries that have chosen the democratic form of government.

“Accountability is a duty that a government has to its people,” he said, adding that every representative, elected or appointed, must have the assurance that political bias will not prevail in the conduct of parliamentary matters.
“It is unreasonable, however, to expect that speakers and presiding officers will be absolutely free of personal political choices - almost every citizen or observer has one – but there ought to be no accommodation, whatever, of partisan behaviour, on their (speakers’) part.”

The speakers resolved to ensure that Parliaments role of diplomacy in the era of globalisation is pivotal in promoting International cooperation which affects the quality of life.

To achieve this, parliamentarians are expected to develop policies both national and international and be allowed to deliberate through questions, motions and resolutions.

iimaka@ug.nationmedia.com