Buikwe leaders want errant politicians regulated

Residents in Buikwe District have asked the Uganda National Dialogue (UND) to start a process of enacting bye-laws to regulate politicians who fail to fulfil their promises and those who cause conflicts in politics. The leaders said that the regulation would act to prevent bad politics and weed out those who cannot fulfil promises made during the election process.

The leaders were speaking at the dialogue, held by UND, in Ngongwe Sub County, Buikwe District that involved local council leaders, councillors, teachers, different political party leaders as well as residents.

The chairperson of Buikwe Town Council, Mr Godfrey Sserunjoji, said many politicians tend to make uncalled for statements with the aim of criticising other politicians instead of working on what they promised their voters.

“If we are to have the Uganda we want, there should be bye-laws that will help weed out such politicians who are confused, create wars and abandon what they promise to work on," he said.
Mr Sserunjoji said that conflicts and empty promises start from the heads in government showing how confused they are.

Ms Rose Mbabazi, a resident in Ngongwe said that politicians should always serve for one term and leave for others to take up leadership.
"There should be term limits to have a better Uganda we want," she said.

According to Dr John Kakembo, the head of delegation of the Uganda National Dialogue (UND) in Buikwe, Ugandans have lived a history of instability and violence in as much as they have enjoyed peace and relative stability.

Addressing those present, Dr Kakembo said that through the turbulent times, the country incurred tremendous losses.
He explained that the dialogue is to help them forge a common destiny as equal shareholders in the country.

"We preach our collective wisdom and the power of citizenship to confront the broader challenges of economic governance of building a God-fearing nation founded on shared values and of establishing a lasting constitutional dispensation and a deep-rooted culture of rule of law," he said.
The citizens raised concerns about religious leaders being compromised and about people in high positions of power practicing tribalism.

They also accused the government officials of destroying the environment noting that they cut down trees and transport timber in the presence of army officers. They castigated the government for poor service delivery, corruption, mistreatment, uncalled for arrests and land grabbing in the country.
Dr Kakembo however told them that the dialogue champions the first ever earnest model in which government together with the citizens will forge a new functional consensus on what is working well and what is not.

Bishop Joshua Lwere said UND has kicked off with the dialogue in Buikwe District with the intention of interacting and asking the citizenry what they think of creating a Uganda they want.
The UND kicked off a tour in five districts including Buikwe, Luuka, Katakwi, Gulu and Kabalore. It will also reach out to one sub-county in each district.

Bishop Joshua Lwere said that they are focusing on eight themes namely; national values consensus; national diversity consensus; national political consensus; consensus on constitutionalism and rule of law; national consensus on land, land justice and access to natural resources; national consensus on minimum standards of public service delivery; national consensus on the structure of the economy that works for every citizen; and a national consensus on implementation modalities.