MPs, leave our Constitution alone
What you need to know:
- With the discovery of oil in the country, the greed for power is bound to even increase because of the expected revenue that will be generated from the resource.
On September 12, 2017, some 245 Members of Parliament subscribing to the National Resistance Movement (NRM), unanimously voted in support of the removal of the presidential age limit. The move is seen as an attempt by the MPs to give President Museveni another opportunity to extend his more than three-decade long rule past 2021. The current law, Article 102(b) in the Constitution, bars some one at the age of 75 years and above from seeking to be president of the country.
This revelation comes at a time when memories of 2005 when Parliament removed the presidential term limits that enabled President Museveni to contest in 2006 after he had served for his two elective five year-terms.
It is extremely absurd that Uganda has never had a peaceful transfer of power from one president to another since independence. Instead civil and political violence have often characterised change of leadership - resulting in massive loss of valuable lives and property.
With the discovery of oil in the country, the greed for power is bound to even increase because of the expected revenue that will be generated from the resource. In many other African oil producing countries, leaders do not want to hand over power yet the mineral wealth is concentrated among a few individuals at the expense of the citizenry.
This greed for power has led to the emergence of governments that are not responsive to citizen’s needs hence increasing corruption and mismanagement of national recourses.
I, therefore, call upon Members of Parliament to do the honorary thing - defend the Constitution, resist temptations to pick handouts that might be dangled to you and ensure that your children inherit a better country. For God and my Country.
Bakundane Balach,
[email protected]
