Ssekandi tips Alupo on working with Museveni

The outgoing Vice President, Mr Edward Ssekandi, yesterday asked his successor, Ms Jessica Alupo, to be obedient and always desist from clashing with her boss, President Museveni.

Mr Ssekandi revealed that he never quarrelled with the President nor clashed with any minister for the last 10 years he served as vice president.

He said he was able to achieve this through understanding his role as Vice President as enshrined in the Constitution.
“She should be careful and desist from quarrelling with the President and other officials. She should try her best. If there are mistakes, she should apologise and move on,” Mr Ssekandi told journalists after handing over office .

Article 108 of the Constitution stipulates that “The vice president  shall deputize the President as and when the need arises; and perform such other functions as may be assigned to him or her by the President, or as may be conferred on him or her by this Constitution.”

Pledge
Ms Alupo pledged to live up to her mandate enshrined in the Constitution through assisting the President to discharge his duties.
She also  pledged better service delivery to all Ugandans, asserting that she will work with Cabinet members to mobilise Ugandans towards increased household income and monetizing the economy .

 “As you may recall, one of the key intentions of President Museveni in his new term is to drive the country to middle income status. So my focus will be to help him enhance and achieve that objective,” she said.

She added: “I will work with the rest of the Cabinet to achieve cohesion, patriotism will be key on our agenda. Service delivery will  be a priority and there will be of course zero tolerance to corruption.” 

Ms Alupo becomes  Uganda’s second female vice president  since 1962 when the country attained  Independence.
 The Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, who witnessed the handover, said  she was  ready to work with Ms  Alupo.

She commended President Museveni for entrusting the Vice President and Prime Minister duties to women.
“To have the two of us in these positions of high responsibility is historic and unprecedented. These positions of responsibility place huge expectations on us from our citizens, and more so, from young women out there who look up to us for inspiration. It is also an opportunity for us to demonstrate that, yes, women can and we shall not disappoint,” Ms Nabbanja said.

More than 10 ministers handed over office yesterday.