Parliament should be oasis of intellectual persuasion

Although I am no longer a legislator, I continue to be fascinated by ideas whenever Parliament is deliberating on paramount issues.
The recent debate on the Homosexuality Bill tabled by Hon. Asuman Basalirwa in Parliament, drew the attention of so many people and the speaker of the House chose contributors without bias. Bravo Speakers, Anite Among and Tom Tayebwa. There was even a moment when the Speaker persuaded the main opposer of the motion, Hon. Fox Odoi to have more time to speak for his side of the story.
I expected Hon. Odoi to fight the Bill materially by relating his stand to Natural Law. Odoi’s primary query was that there was no need for Parliament to write a new law where a similar law was already part of the Penal Code. Most of the case precedents he cited were foreign and had very little relevance to the Ugandan case law Environment. The courage Odoi exhibited in opposing such a bill on the Floor of the House, undoubtedly credits him as the devil’s advocate.
The early part of the 6th Parliament chaired by the late James Wapakhabulo could have been the best of times for me. In that House, I usually discussed the “State of the Nation” address by H.E the President and many a time, I would speak for over 30 minutes without the Speaker’s interruption.
The current Parliament has a number of good debaters. However, their main hand-cap lies in limited space. The legislators don’t need speech therapies; all they need is a fair hearing. Through normal practice, the oratorical giants will surface for as long as the Members bother to read the routine reports from Sessional and Standing Committees, let alone make use of their research findings from time to time.
It was a wonderful experience for me to represent the people of Rubaga South in Parliament for 15 years. At that time, I saw Parliament as an oasis of intellectual persuasion, where Members learn from each other all the time.
However, the deliberations of Parliament cannot be enjoyed in the absence of a good “Speaker”. That Speaker is the epitome of honour in the House. He or She should therefore preside over the House with strict adherence to the formal Rules of Procedure of Parliament and the Basic Law of the Land. Above all, the Speaker should show interest in every matter being discussed. For example, a progressive back -bencher should sit near the person he or she can consult.
Time should appropriately be allocated to the Members, giving more opportunities to contributions other than interventions. In the 11th Parliament, Rule 49(1) of the Rules of procedure, entitles a Member to ask a question on any matter of public importance without Notice. On the contrary, no question of that kind may be asked today without the prior leave of the Speaker.
The Speaker’s reluctance to honor the contents of Rule 49(1) grossly undermines the Members’ role to check the competence of Ministers on the Floor of the House without Notice.
In Parliament, a Member should freely choose what to say for as long as he or she avoids a trend of being a Jack of all trades. There are MPs that stick on moving points of order to ensure strict adherence to the Rules of Procedure; others present prepared speeches on the National Budget and the State of the Nation Address to strengthen critical thinking in line with Edmund Burke’s stand.
There are many ways through which the 11th Parliament can be transformed into a chamber of excellence. However, that august House should strictly guard its image to avoid the temptation of being captured by the Executive Arm of Government. I learnt a great deal from my senior colleagues in the 6th and 7th Parliaments respectively. Dr. Okullo Epac, Ben Wacha, Prof.G.Bukenya, Dick Nyai, Wasswa Lule, Winnie Byanyima, Nobert Mao and Salam Musumba to mention but a few confidants.
The late Aggrey Awori and I, regularly queried the Executive Arm of Government through the equivalence of Rule 49 (1) in the current Rules of procedure of Parliament, to check its competence and our challenges occasionally paved the way towards the end of the day’s Order Paper.
John Ken Lukyamuzi is a lawyer and former MP, Rubaga South