MPs scramble for new counties as battle for reforms begins

It has been a fantastic week for politicians. Each MP, including Opposition members, pocketed more than Shs100m in backdated fuel arrears. Again, the Government Chief Whip, Ms Ruth Nankabirwa, announced that NRM MPs will get more money (sources say about Shs80m each) to go back to their constituencies and collect views on the 2016-2021 manifesto. The ruling party manifesto committee chaired by Dr Ruhakana Rugunda is gathering views on President Museveni’s 2016 manifesto.
Parliament Watch understands that the Shs100m given to each MP as fuel arrears (2011-2015) was intended to motivate members ahead of the elections.

Coincidence
However, it was a coincidence that cash hit members’ accounts ahead of the Tuesday debate on two important matters of State —The Constitutional Amendments Bill, 2015, and the creation of new counties ahead of the 2016 elections.
Authorities in Parliament struggled to explain the Shs100m. They said they were paying MPs mileage allowance at a cost of Shs2,500 per litre yet currently the fuel costs Shs3,750 per litre. They insisted that the difference, calculated from 2011-2015, amounts to more than Shs37b. However, civil society activists asked the voters to compel the MPs to vomit the money and accused Parliament of being a bottomless pit and a burden to the taxpayer.
Ms Cissy Kagaba, the executive director Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda said the decision is “a huge slap” in the face to “suffering Ugandans”, especially teachers and health workers, who have endured “miserable wage” decreases in real terms since the last election.
“Parliament has become a bottomless pit. The MPs are selfish lot and they continue to milk Ugandans to the bones at the expense of service delivery. It’s disappointing and unreasonable for government to dish out the billions to MPs yet Ugandans have no access to basic services,” Ms Kagaba said.
She said the timing is suspect because “the money disguised as fuel arrears” is meant to help incumbent MPs facilitate their campaigns. “It also shows government ingenuity of dishing out money on pretext of fuel arrears.” Ms Kagaba demanded that the voters compel the MPs to return taxpayers money in public interest.

Scramble for counties
Enough of the cash bonanza in Parliament. The government motion for a resolution of Parliament to create 40 new counties opened a can of worms as lawmakers from across the political spectrum scramble to enlist the help of their colleagues, begging for new constituencies and districts ahead of the 2016 general elections. The MPs and other concerned Ugandans last week presented their petitions to the committee, seeking to create at least 60 new seats in Parliament. Currently, there are 386 MPs sitting in a chamber designed for 80 members.
The Parliament’s Public Service and Local Government Committee tasked to scrutinise the government request is expected to report on Tuesday morning. However, it has emerged that the motion Local Government minister Adolf Mwesige brought to Parliament last week was illegal since the counties as administrative units, were repealed in 2013.
Shadow minister for Local Government Betty Nambooze reminded the Committee on Wednesday that Section 45 (a) (i) of the Local Government Act was deleted by Parliament. This means, the government through Electoral Commission (EC) can only create constituencies under Article 63 of the 1995 Constitution but not counties.
Ms Nambooze said, it will be “very absurd” for the committee members to create counties which were abolished by the same committee in February 2013 and that if they want to create counties again, they should amend, the amended Local Government Act. Subject to Article 63 (1) of the 1995 Constitution, the commission is mandated to review the division of Uganda into constituencies within 12 months after the publication of results of a census of the population of Uganda and may as a result re-demarcate the constituencies.
However, the population census results as a basis for creation of new constituencies have not been released and that elections have already commenced. The Opposition have accused the committee with NRM majority of exciting Ugandans and masquerading that they are creating new counties which are not tenable under the law.
FDC secretary general Nandala Mafabi also appeared before the committee and warned the MPs against the worsening cost of public administration and how a bloated Parliament had become a burden to the taxpayer.
Mr Mafabi proposed that instead of creating more seats in Parliament, they should push for a bicameral Parliament and regional councils. As the case for the disputed amendments to the Constitution, a minority report is expected on this matter after the committee members failed to agree.

Battle for reforms
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs presented its main report on constitutional amendments in which they agreed with the government proposals in the draft Bill and retained the President’s grip on EC.
However, they rejected the proposed 1,000 signatures for independents before nomination and excluded Parliament from the new Salaries and Remuneration Board. What this, however, means is that if Parliament adopts the committee recommendation, MPs will continue to fix their salaries in what critics dismissed as “greed of the highest order” even as members explained that they wanted to protect the independence of Parliament.
Although MPs claim they wanted to protect the independence of Parliament, on Article 83, they have recommended that a member who is expelled by his or her party should also lose his or her seat.
However, in Mr Paul Mwiru’s minority report presented on Wednesday, they urged that allowing political parties to control what members say on the floor would weaken Parliament. They have also rejected the decision of NRM MPs to throw out the major reforms to Electoral Commission. Their view is that EC should be appointed by Judicial Service Commission and that the President’s hand should be removed from the electoral process to ensure free and fair elections.
Although Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah rejects calls for further consultations, it emerged that the Legal Committee consulted Ugandans in only 16 districts out of 112 districts, citing limited time and resource constraints. Therefore, MPs led by Mr John Simbwa (NRM, Makindye East) demanded that the Bill be withdrawn in public interest to allow time for wide consultations on the amendments to the supreme law. Their view is that it’s wrong for the government to turn a committee of Parliament into a Constitutional Review Commission.

Call for consultations

A member of the committee told Parliament Watch that they failed to get the money for consultations and that the Shs150,000 each member got for accommodation came from the UN and the Centre for Constitutional Governance.
That even the consultative meetings they had in the 16 districts were dramatic. The committee would spend about 30 minutes there.
The Stephen Tashobya report recommended a comprehensive constitutional review process and explained that major reforms were not considered because of lack of time.
However, the minority report insists that there is time to undertake meaningful reforms, especially in the appointment of the Electoral Commission. Parliament is expected to make a decision on this matter as debate opens on Tuesday. Mr Oulanyah is also expected to guide on the sub-judice rule. Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Ssekikubo, one of the four expelled NRM MPs, asked Parliament to halt debate on Article 83, citing the sub judice.
He reminded the House that the debate on Article 83 would jeopardise the pending case in the Supreme Court.
The case in which the expelled MPs are challenging their expulsion from Parliament is pending judgement. However, government in the proposed amendments to the Constitution wants expelled members to lose their seats in Parliament.[email protected]