Half of MPs cannot debate, says Bidandi

Kampala. President Museveni’s former confidant and minister Bidandi Ssali has castigated the big size of Parliament and other government sectors and doubted the relevance of half of the MPs whom he said cannot debate.
The 81-year-old veteran politician and former Local Government minister in Mr Museveni’s government represented Nakawa Division until 2001 when Parliament had 327 members.
The number has since surged up to 459 in the current Parliament and will soon increase by six seats when the new districts that became effective in July vote woman representatives.
Mr Bidandi, also a former presidential candidate (2011), told Daily Monitor in an interview at his Kiwatule Recreation Centre on the outskirts of Kampala that Ugandans are not benefiting from MPs of the 10th Parliament.
He said the size of Parliament is not growing in the interest of the electorate but rather in the interests of few individuals in the country.
“Well I don’t know. It is a people’s representative body but if somebody is using it in order to achieve political interests, then the purpose is really diluted. The bigger number may not affect debate per se I don’t think even half of that number is composed of debaters. They are representatives of different interests,” Mr Bidandi said.
The Parliament Director of Communication and Public Affairs, Mr Chris Obore, attributed the lack of quality debate in the House to the limited time given to the members to express their views due to the ever increasing number.
Mr Obore said if members were given enough time to debate, the country would see how they use the experience attained from their previous workplaces to light up Parliament.
“It is not about the quality of individual MPs, it is about the external factors,” he added.
Mr Bidandi also shared his views on the amendment of the Constitution to remove the presidential age limit.
Mr Bidandi was sacked from Cabinet in 2003 shortly before the amendment of the Constitution to lift presidential term limits in 2005.
Last year, Parliament again passed the controversial Constitutional Amendment Bill 2017, which saw the removal of Article 102(b) which barred a person aged below 35 and above 75 from standing for presidency.
Mr Bidandi also questioned the relevance of increasing number of new districts in the country.
“It is the interest of the local population that decides the need for a district but not the interest of the individual or the leadership. Those which were created as a result of people’s wishes are okay. But they are now so many which in my own view are not viable as such,” he said.
There are now 127 districts with some new ones being created as a result of campaign pledges by President Museveni while others are demanded by the population.
By the time Mr Bidandi left the local government docket in 2003, Uganda had less than 90 districts.