A two-tier Parliament for Uganda is two-edged sword

NSUBUGA MUKEDI

What you need to know:

  • Reform of Parliament. It would add extreme value if the proposed project was to reform the Parliament of Uganda from population to geographical-based representation approaches.
  • Geographical representation will reduce significantly the number of MPs and certainly the cost of maintaining the August House.

The media on November 4 published a new proposed political innovation for Uganda seeking the creation of an upper parliament to supplement the existing August House. The major reasons advanced by the political entrepreneurs behind this vision are:
• Poor levels of debate in the present parliament due to absence of experienced law makers.
• Huge forum of ex-MPS with a vast and redundant human resource and parliamentary institutional memory.

• Upper parliament would provide a form of checks on the present parliament by providing second thoughts passed by the latter.
• The second proposed parliament is feasible and that the government can afford it if the people of Uganda deem it necessary.
Whereas public sector growth is indispensable in economic growth and development, its dispensation should be carried out wisely and rightly to avoid situations of wasting hard-won government resources into insignificant state formations.

The money and logistics required to create a new Parliament for Uganda should instead be channeled to develop human capacity and institutional capabilities of the existing August House to fit well with the generally acceptable global standards if any.

The examples the architects of this project cite as a basis to develop Uganda’s model are of far rich economies than can sustain well the cost and effect of having two national assemblies. USA, UK and Nigeria singled out are far rich countries in terms of the economy, population densities and political civilisation and so can sustain well their two parliaments without strategic hiccups. Uganda’s political administration is arguably already overstretched with a lot of resource wastage on meeting welfare demands for more than 80 Cabinet ministers and state ministers, more than 400 Members of Parliament, more 120 district local governments, and more 120 Resident District Commissioners, among other heavy national cost centres.

A third world country like Uganda with a staggering 40 million people and a GDP of about $28.9 billion becomes completely over ambitious and unfocused to envision establishing money eater organisations rather than self-accounting bodies that can add significant value to speedy economic development.

The proposed project further shrinks when its architects believe in re-deploying ex-MPS as the main human capital base for the new Parliament. It is known that Parliament is a competitive public office and so any person deemed fit is free to compete for it whenever opportunity is availed. It is also known that some MPs are voted or phased out of Parliament for various reasons, including incompetence, lack of education, death or personal forfeiture. Parliament is a living thing that taps new or renewed talent terminally.

Why then should the proposed house cling on old talent specifically as a basis for its creation? Isn’t this a new political Satan for Uganda? It would add extreme value if the proposed project was to reform the Parliament of Uganda from population to geographical-based representation approaches. Geographical representation will reduce significantly the number of MPs and certainly the cost of maintaining the August House. Consequently, the quality, standards and flow of events in the house will improve as required by the architects of the proposed new Parliament.

The 15 official regions that formed the present-day Uganda would also benefit under the geographical representation approach in fuelling regional representatives to the National Assembly to represent their values, customs and beliefs aimed at enhancing and consolidating aggregate national development and patriotism.
The above situation, for various reasons, is not effectively tenable today under the population representation-based parliamentary approach. The 15 regions talked about include Ankole, Bunyoro, Toro, Buganda, Busoga, West Nile, and Acholi.

This two-tier house proposal may benefit the country if it follows the very aspirations of the people of Uganda as by policy and law established, or may be a total disaster if it’s created on the very unclear grounds as is being gossiped today. Thank you all and together, let’s be an inspiration to Uganda!

Mr Mukedi is a development specialist and a senior public management scientist.
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