11th Parliament and 7-month journey under Covid, lockdown

The first session of the 11th Parliament, which ran from May 24 to December 21 last year, was plagued by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Steered by Speaker Jacob Oulanyah and his Deputy Anita Annet Among, Uganda’s largest Parliament with 529 MPs, operated under shrunk space and stiff Covid-19 preventive measures. 

Nevertheless, Mr Oulanyah was upbeat and pledged to focus his work on addressing the needs of majority Ugandans.

“We, therefore, must resolve from the outset that our supreme guiding star, unchanging like the true North of Magnet, would be the enduring interest of the people of Uganda,” Mr Oulanyah pledged, minutes after he took oath of office at the Kololo Independence Grounds mid last year.

But the brutal effects of the coronavirus disease soon forced the administration to suspend House business for two weeks in June last year. Parliament also had to scale down on staff and restricted the number of MPs to attend its plenary sessions.

This was an attempt to adhere to the Ministry of Health standard operating procedures (SOPs), including physical and social distancing. 

This saw some of the 529 MPs, for the bigger part of the opening two months, operate in corridors and at the Parliamentary canteen until extra space was secured at Kingdom Kampala. 
It was later revealed Parliament would spend at least Shs9.8b annually for 9,030 square metres it rented at Kingdom Kampala.

Again in November, the main entrance to the country’s house of legislature suffered the effects of twin terror bombings, which induced another suspension of business at the August House. 

The highs
Nonetheless, before the MPs were sent into recess in mid-December, a number achievements had been scored in the first 61 sittings in the First Session. A total of 13 Bills were read and five of them passed, including the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Bill (Amendment), 2021, which has since been assented to by President Museveni.

Prior to the passing of the NSSF Bill, the debate on the matter had more than twice been adjourned, triggering mixed reaction from a section of the MPs and top guns from umbrella workers organisations in the country.
But after it was passed, Speaker Oulanyah could not hide his relief and joy that came with.

“Today, I will breathe. I have been receiving phone calls and messages from the workers of this country. Parliament has delivered on what should do for qualifying workers to have mid-term access to their accrued

NSSF benefits. Congratulations!” Mr Oulanyah said in a tweet after the NSSF (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed.

The others included The Income Tax (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, 2021, The Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill, 2021, The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) (Special Provisions) Bill, 2021 and The Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

Challenges
Notwithstanding the above success, some challenges emerged when Mr Oulanyah ‘struggled’ to convince MPs to meet the First Lady and minister for Education, Ms Janet Museveni, at the Kololo Independence Grounds.

After a protracted debate, the MPs turned down the minister’s invitation.

Prior to this, there were attempts by the chairpersons of the accountability committees to move a motion seeking to restore a provision allowing them to probe reports by the Auditor General dating 10 years back.

In the 10th Parliament, a motion was passed to adopt all reports of the Auditor General running back as far as 10 years whose findings hadn’t been scrutinised by accountability committees. The House then argued that clearing the backlog would allow the next Parliament to start on a clean slate.

But this never materialised as Mr Oulanyah discarded the request on the matter, dampening the Opposition’s efforts.

This, however, did not deter Nakawa West MP Joel Ssenyonyi (NUP) from grilling government parastatals. Mr Ssenyonyi’s Committee of Commissions Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) has since probed various officials, including top guns from the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) and the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC).

Criticisms and Opposition boycott
But the opening months of Speaker Oulanyah’s tenure has been criticised for doing ‘little’ to push for the release of two of its members; namely Makindye West MP Allan Ssewanyana (NUP), and his Kawempe North counterpart Muhammad Ssegirinya (NUP).

In a sitting convened on September 28, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP), Mr Mathias Mpuuga, stormed out during a session chaired by Speaker Oulanyah. They demanded the duo be released. Days later, the Opposition’s boycott was cut short with the hope that the MPs would be released. To date the duo is still under incarceration at Kitalya Prison.

Critics seem to have since turned guns against the administration of Mr Mpuuga about the continued detention of the duo. 

It was, therefore, not surprising that Mr Mpuuga came hard on government during first sitting after Parliament returned from recess on Thursday. 

The LOP has since promised to push for investigations into the countless arrests of civilians, including the two NUP MPs.

MPs stamp authority
Parliament has also had a strained relationship with the government about the deployment of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) in Eastern DR Congo (DRC). The fallout was occasioned by government’s decision in late November to send troops into DRC without formal notice and or approval of MPs as required by law.

The matter that was first brought up by Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake nearly three months ago has fetched no formal communication from government, something lawmakers have vowed to push for.

Parliament last week opted to halt the approval of Shs89.7b budget for the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs to finance UPDF operations in DRC, until government delivers a response as demanded by the MPs.

The challenges have since compelled Mr Mpuuga to task Speaker Oulanyah to honour his promise to steer a people-centred Parliament. 

Mr Mpuuga is demanding urgent response to the a harsh conditions pressing the citizenry.
In a recent move, Mr Mpuuga pushed for the urgent recall of MPs from recess to debate and find solution to the fuel crisis that is pressing motorists and travellers across the country.

Mr Mpuuga has also renewed his call for the release of MPs Ssewanyana and Ssegirinya and all other persons said to be under detention without trial.

The LoP has also promised to push for a law that deters all persons that clock retirement age from holding any public office. He is also pressing government to scales-up standards of the country’s health facility so that high profile persons can be treated locally.

What next?
For now, the citizenry is waiting to see how the MPs will debate the fuel crisis that has strained the transport sector. 

The public will also be listening in to hear on how the pursuance of the Shs89.7b by the UPDF to fund the operation Shujja is handled.

Keen interest will also be placed on the legislators to see whether they amend the Constitution to make the right to vote for President a preserve for only MPs.

NSSF Bill 

"Today, I will breathe. I have been receiving phone calls and messages from the workers of this country. Parliament has delivered on what should do for qualifying workers to have mid-term access to their accrued NSSF benefits. Congra-tulations!’’ Mr Oulanyah said in a tweet after the NSSF Bill (Amen-dment) Bill, 2021 was passed.