Parliament in session. Although the 9th Parliament passed close to 100 Bills in five years and a number of motions, committee reports and petitions from voters, a lot of work was left unfinished. PHOTO BY ERIC DOMINIC BUKENYA
With a number of key Bills and other issues left pending, the 9th Parliament seems to have passed on some of their work to the 10th Parliament. Sunday Monitor’s Yasiin Mugerwa explores why the outgoing legislators did not accomplish some of the work in the house.
After passing close to 100 Bills in five years and a cocktail of motions, committee reports and petitions from voters, winners and losers in the 9th Parliament received certificates of gratitude at a farewell party.
They also took to the dance floor to celebrate their achievements.
More than 80 per cent of MPs lost their seats in what some analysts have called, “a vote of no-confidence” in the 9th Parliament.
However, in a monetised electoral environment where “carrots” decide everything, analysts say the defeat of more than 200 MPs in the 9th Parliament had little or nothing to do with the filament of unfinished business.
Boasting how they outstripped the 7th and 8th Parliaments, some MPs, particularly those who survived the wrath of the voters, begun thumping their chests like champions, even as some new members warned that it is impossible to claim victory with so much business unfinished.
To Mr Siraje Nsanja, a Political Science don at Kampala University, in spite of a grisly start etched in the Shs5 million handout to NRM MPs ahead of the swearing in ceremony, the 10th Parliament can succeed where the 9th Parliament failed, adding that if they have any hope of redeeming the institution in voters’ eyes, the lawmakers must press forward with desperately needed electoral reforms.
Too much
“All Parliaments have spill overs, but where you have petitions, motions and Bills of three years and above gathering dust in Parliament, you wonder whether there is something wrong,” Mr Nsanja said.
“Some petitions were overtaken by events, reports and Bills pending in committees because chairpersons and members are busy roaming the world like Christopher Columbus. This is not right,” he added.
Mr Nsanja and others with knowledge of Parliament, however, proposed that the Office of the Speaker tightens the procedures for accessing trips and that the House rules of procedure be changed so that the chief whips play a role in recommending beneficiaries and ensure accountability.
They have also proposed sanctions for absentee MPs and that the sitting allowances be tagged on the presence of the individual members in the chamber to address the structural challenges ahead.
The first day of a new Parliament is a lot like the first day of school. But instead of being issued new books, freshers, as well as returning MPs, receive a copy of the Constitution and a copy of the parliamentary rules of procedure. But what the members also need, perhaps, is a list of unfinished business of the previous Parliament.
According to political analysts, it was rather the level of absenteeism in the 9th Parliament, filibustering and poor performance of individual members, especially in their constituencies, that took them to the gallows.
And to senior politicians, including Mr Livingston Okello-Okello, who represented Chwa Constituency in Kitgum District in the 8th Parliament and other veteran politicians, “the politics of eating” explain the attrition rate in Parliament.
Politics of eating
Borrowing words from Ms Michela Wrong’s book: It’s our turn to eat, Mr Okello-Okello believes some MPs lost their seats not because of incompetence, unfinished business in Parliament or absenteeism, but because of, “it is time for another person to eat mentality”. Mr Okello-Okello, however, insists, in the face of the achievements, like any other Parliament, “the scandal of unfinished business” forms part of the sad story of the 9th Parliament.
The unfinished business in the 9th Parliament consists of key Bills such as the Retirement Benefits Sector Liberalisation Bill, Anti-Homosexuality Bill, Sexual Offences Bill, Marriage and Divorce Bill, The Uganda Communications (Amendment) Bill, The National Biotechnology and Bio-safety Bill, The Law Revision (Penalties in Criminal Matters) Miscellaneous Amendments Bill, 2015, Auditor General’s reports, motions, questions for oral answers, petitions and loan requests all ‘died’ with the expiry of the 9th Parliament and all committees lost their power to transact business, providing a fresh start for the new Parliament.
However, the proposed laws which were not passed before the expiry of the 9th Parliament remain saved and, in order to resurrect such Bills in the new Parliament, they must either be reintroduced as if they had never existed or simply resurrected by a resolution of Parliament.
The business committee is expected to consider these matters as the new Parliament embarks on its mission: Transforming Uganda from a low-income nation to a middle-income country by 2020, while ensuring economic growth, is seen in the pockets of Ugandans as meeting the aspirations of jobless youth and dealing with corruption in public and private offices.
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