Select deputy speaker from Opposition for fairness - CSO

Mbale. The African Peer Review Mechanism [APRM] report has recommended that the deputy Speaker of Parliament should be selected from the Opposition as a mechanism to ensure legislative fairness.
According to the report titled ‘Uganda Country Self-assessment’ carried out this year, this could effectively improve checks and balances of the ruling government.

Restore term limits
The report also recommended the presidential term limits to be reinstated for better governance.
Mr Jama Dalmar, the head of strategic planning at APRM while presenting the report in Mbale Town on Monday, said this will help to balance power between the opposition and ruling government.
“This will foster the adoption of better policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development,” he said.
He added that it will enable the country to validate governance performance and highlight good practices and challenges.
APRM is a self-monitoring instrument to assess, present progress, and provide lessons on how to enhance good governance.

Rule of law
Mr Dalmar said the constitutional democracy and rule of law in the country should be enhanced.
“Governance, which is the heart of national development, is based on rule of law, and there cannot be good governance without it, and this is essential,” he said.
The report also recommended the government should also put in place amendment to the political parties Act 2010.
“The mechanism to disengage the commercialisation of politics be devised, electoral disputes must be resolved expeditiously and electoral crimes must be made highly risky and punished in a commensurate manner such as baring convicted politicians from standing again for a specific period of time,’ the report read in part.

More funding
On Judiciary, the report challenged government to provide more resources to support the justice, Law and order sector, particularly the Uganda Human rights Commission, to fully execute their roles.
The APRM report however, underscored under-funding to local government which has declined from 22.2 per cent of the national budget in 2007 to 15.6 per cent in 2015.
“Instead of creating more districts, the focus should be put on deepening resource allocation at sub-county level and building their technical capacity since they are frontline service delivery points and also making the physical infrastructure fully functional with facilities that make service delivery possible,” the report recommended.

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