From the Press Gallery: Honeymoon is over, let the Kadaga era begin
Speaker Rebecca Kadaga
The first month after marriage, is usually filled with love and affection. The honeymoon is a period of discovery, when you learn new things about your partner. However, the mutual fondness soon begins to wane when the first child is born and demands of that new life and family requirements, start weighing on the newly-weds.
Just like newly-weds spend time together on honeymoon, before settling down at home, our lawmakers last week completed a week-long induction training.
Intellectuals, bureaucrats and former legislators all lectured MPs while focusing on how to make Parliament work for the people in a “hysterical democracy” like ours. But the most outstanding scholar was retired Supreme Court Judge Prof. George Kanyeihamba who criticised the NRM Caucus for ‘killing’ national debate, and depriving the country of the finer points of democracy and the rule of law.
However, there were others such as, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, the former premier and leader of government business in the House, who left me and others, wondering why for the last 12 years, he never found the guts to speak.
By suggesting that the Speaker and deputy should cease being partisan members and MPs’ emoluments be set by an independent body, Prof. Nsibambi reminded me of words of counsel from former British premier, Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965) when he said: “Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.”
But the funny part of Prof. Nsibambi’s speech came when he proposed that Article 83 of the Constitution be amended to provide for the sacking of members who defy the Caucus “dictatorship”.
Unfortunately, such arguments have over the years reduced Parliament to a dictatorship of the majority in a multi-party environment. What Prof. Nsibambi is suggesting should therefore, be rejected with the contempt in deserves. For, if those with the numbers relent, then Ugandans should know that it’s not the numbers, but reason that matters.
Today, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga marks 40 days in office. After they begged God to help them live by the Constitution, lawmakers meet this afternoon to embark on a jam-packed agenda. Ms Kadaga’s confidants have admitted that the “honeymoon is over”, that it’s time to deliver on key campaign promises made to voters.
However, in its 40 days of honeymoon, the 9th Parliament cut an image for itself which is anywhere between good and bad. For closing out journalists to discuss their “fat-cat benefits” behind closed doors and showing greed for luxurious vehicles even as their voters starve, the 9th Parliamentarians began their term on a wrong side. That’s why Parliament is still scorned by the same people, who scorned the 8th Parliament as a “fat cat” whose purpose is self-absorbed.
Like a medicine used during surgery for pain relief, last week’s induction was largely designed to protect Ugandans from the ghosts of the 8th House.
Jam-packed agenda
In the previous Parliament, the country witnessed favouritism, greed, laziness, hypocrisy, corruption, intrigue and indifference by the majority while dealing with the needs of the wananchi.
But as Kadaga’s era begins to bite into a powerful agenda today, the optimism is that our lawmakers, particularly those from the ruling NRM party who consider their colleagues in opposition “enemies of the state”, might begin to break the silence of the night that has over the years held reason captive.
Also, rejecting four ministerial appointees by the Appointments Committee on moral and academic grounds, was a step towards achieving real parliamentary democracy as enshrined in the Constitution. Rejecting the four ministerial appointees meant it’s possible for Parliament to ‘regrow’ its “robbed teeth” and autonomy.
Again, for the first time since the return of multi-party politics in 2005, Kadaga provided space for independents in Parliament- amove intended to circumvent a repeat of last year’s drama when the Constitutional Court sacked more than 70 MPs including ministers over political indiscipline. Ms Kadaga has also promised to review House Rules of Procedure among others to open up the Appointments Committee to the public to guarantee transparency.
Politics of reason
However, to succeed, Kadaga must not allow numbers to defeat reason in a multi-party Parliament. The politics of numbers must stop and agree with the politics of national interests. The kind of politics where NRM wins by reason and opposition concedes defeat on that reason other than numbers. It is better to succeed with the truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie because every lie we tell, casts a shadow of separation.
Like what Prof. Loch Otieno – Lumumba, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission chief, said last week, accountable and independent institutions are critical in the development of any nation. If the 9th Parliament is to succeed in its mandate, then a new character must rise among our MPs. Let us hope that their inner being may be sensitive to wise counsel, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us on a daily basis.
Whether our MPs learnt something or otherwise, will be known starting this week as real business of the 9th Parliament starts in earnest. In this column, we looked at what Kadaga, the NRM and the opposition need to do to reclaim the relevance of Parliament in our democracy.
As a matter of urgency, Parliament has to pass the budget before August 31 deadline spelt out in the Budget Act. However, our MPs need to know that it is within their powers to carefully scrutinise and evaluate budget proposals for all sectors to ensure that they adequately reflect the national development agenda. The budget debate therefore, is a key activity that must be taken seriously as it offers a crucial opportunity for Parliament to promote the people’s interests.
We don’t have shortage of laws in this country to be able to deliver services to the people, but the myth that the pending Bills “perished” with the 8th Parliament shouldn’t hold back members from discussing the 23 Bills that are crucial to service delivery. All ministers responsible must re-table these Bills as a matter of urgency.
Looking ahead, it will not be easy for Kadaga and the opposition. Our MPs need both hands free to embrace a new beginning, and that’s impossible if one hand has a grip on mistakes of the 8th Parliament.
