Is Kadaga opening a can of oil worms?

Transparency. Corrupt regimes are awarding oil licences to companies whose substantive owners remain undisclosed. In certain cases, there are grounds for suspicion that some of the companies may be owned or controlled by government officials or their private-sector proxies.

Before asking the “voting machines” to say aye, she had an opportunity to consult widely, given the nature of the Bill. This was not done.

The voting machines ganged up with “chameleons” and pushed through the motion.

After realising that the mob was about to tempt the minister with unlimited powers, some members walked out in protest. The voting could not take place because there was no quorum. After ringing the bell in vain, Ms Kadaga was forced to adjourn the House to Tuesday.

On this dark Tuesday, Ugandans who came to Parliament to witness how the political chameleons would hammer out a conspiracy to muddle what had been sealed in public interest endured rigorous security checks and others were turned away by mean-looking anti-riot police officers. From the on-set, the day looked strange for many.

When the government attempted to push through a vote on a key motion, MPs led by Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga) reminded Ms Kadaga that the government motion had collapsed with lack of quorum.

Then, the commotion broke out. Members stood up and started chanting anti-voting slogans— “We won’t vote! We won’t vote!”, provoking equally loud retorts from front benchers: “We will vote! We will vote!” By this time, Ms Kadaga had lost control and left the House.

The next day, she came with a hardnosed statement, condemning the chaos in the House and instructing the Rules Committee to find the culprits and report them to the House for disciplinary action.

In trying to find solutions to the crisis in Parliament, let it be clearly understood that given the heavy responsibility bestowed on the Speaker to ensure fair debate in the Chamber, the post is vested with adequate powers to ensure this. In that regard, the House, too, has to assist the Speaker in carrying out these functions and MPs are required to adhere to the rules of the game.

While I appreciate the mystifying situation the Speaker finds herself in at the moment, by attempting to discipline members she is opening a can of precarious worms.

First, the Fox Odoi Committee cannot complete the task by tomorrow. Secondly, in the process of finding the culprits, Ms Kadaga risks being misjudged by nit-pickers that she is attempting to play politics — helping the government to get rid of unfriendly forces who had stood in the President’s way.

Thirdly, it’s difficult to have dialogue on the contentious issues in the proposed oil law and at the same time appear before the Rules Committee.

This explains why the talks between the Executive and the backbenchers have failed to take off.

My prayer is that the scuffle in Parliament and the drama expected in the Rules Committee should not divert us from the core issues in the proposed oil law.

The government side and the Speaker need to understand that the corruption in government we see today, makes it hard for Ugandans to trust the minister with such unlimited powers in the management of oil revenue. This is the dilemma.