MPs send away Kamya, Lukwago over Usafi stalemate

PARLIAMENT. Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago treated parliamentarians to a show of drama yesterday as he appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Presidential Affairs.
At the proceedings, Mr Lukwago refused to take any of the refreshments offered despite the vice chairperson, Mr Suzan Amero, offering on more than three occasions.

The Lord Mayor kept shaking his head until the chairperson, Col Fred Mwesigye, threatened that he too would not eat at Mr Lukwago’s office when he visited. Smiling sheepishly, the Lord Mayor then picked a bottle of water and took a swig.
Mr Lukwago was appearing before the committee, where he, together with Kampala minister Beti Kamya and KCCA executive director Jeniffer Musisi, were summoned to respond to queries among them matters of accountability and their plan of developing the city.
However, the controversy surrounding the purchase of Usafi market had been struck off the list of items to be handled by the committee, and this made Mr Lukwago want to leave. “The communication I got indicated that we will discuss Usafi. I came here on the premise and basis of what had been communicated to me,” he said, adding: “I don’t feel comfortable being ambushed to discuss matters that had not been communicated to me.”
The chairperson’s explanation that the Usafi market issues had been skipped because of a court order couldn’t be taken by the Lord Mayor. “If a matter is brought before Parliament and as it is being handled, and somebody who may not even be a member of the affected community goes to court, does Parliament stop its work?” he asked the committee chairman.

Mr Mwesigye responded: “If you feel that you are not comfortable with what we are going to discuss you can leave.”
Aruu County MP Odonga Otto pointed out the distance between Ms Lukwago and Ms Kamya saying it was telling of the bad working relationship. “People out there are tired of this conflict.”

The Lord Mayor then explained himself saying he couldn’t be part of a discussion on a report which he didn’t participate in writing. “All the matters you would like to get here have to come from the Authority where I am the political head…we are to have a meeting on August 23, agree on issues which we will present to the minister and then she can bring here,” Mr Lukwago said.

“I find it irregular that a minister can present anything that is not from the Authority. Where has she got what she is going to present here. You can’t allow the minister to present the policy because she doesn’t have powers to do so,” he said before Ms Kamya interjected.

The minister insisted she has the powers and read to him the law. The Lord Mayor responded: “I don’t have any problem with you having those powers but you have to come to the Authority and I present to you our policy proposals and you have all the right to change them and then you bring what we agree on to Parliament. You can’t unilaterally come without our input.”

Ms Musisi remained silent throughout the proceedings as the minster let the committee in on her struggles to work with the Lord Mayor. “I sent him text messages but he never replied to any. I invited him three times but when he finally responded to me, he said he will never come to my office,” she said.
Seemingly tired of the ping pong between the two, Ms Amero asked the minister and the Lord Mayor to settle whatever “personal differences” they had between them elsewhere.

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