6/8/2014 OPEN LETTER TO THE SPEAKER OF THE UGANDAN PARLIAMENT. Madam Speaker, The hottest item in the media today is the nullification of the anti-gay law by the constitutional court that took place on the 1st day of August 2014. It should not be forgotten that the bill was successfully passed by your parliament in December of 2013 and later assented into law by the president in February of this year. Many of us Ugandans looked at the law as a very good piece of legislation that would help in preserving our culture and saving our future generations but it is unfortunate that it is already null and void in less than one (1) year meaning that we are back to square one. Of course this is good news in the ears of many western countries that have been doing their best to force such uncouth behaviors on us. It is very painful to note that the so called civilized people living in developed countries are the ones opposing nature and even promised to cut their aid if the law continues is passed but Iam optimistic that there will be light at the end of our tunnel. In all this disappointment that is currently engulfing our country, it is very regrettable to note that the law was not nullified due its components but because it was passed with lack of quorum. The constitution of Uganda clearly stipulates that for a bill to be passed by parliament, at least 2/3 of the house must vote. However, the court noted that when the anti gay bill was passed, the parliamentarians that voted were less than the required number. The Prime minister of the country raised that issue on the voting day but you Madam Speaker under looked the issue which was incorrect. You are the people that make the laws, why break them in broad day light? Leaving that at that, where were the legislators on the voting day? I thought that we vote them into power to legislate? What should you do to ensure that they do their work? Permit me to point out some personal opinions about the issue: First of all, it has on several occasions been noted that many parliamentarians miss sessions. In fact, it is just a handful of faithful legislators that attend from the first day to the last. So where can they be? According to different media reports, many legislators have complained that it is constituency work that keeps them away. But what is that claimed constituency work? Trust me, when the majority of your Mps are voted into power, they turn themselves into saviors of their constituencies. Instead of coming to Parliament, they take up jobs of sub-county chiefs, Chief administrative officers (CAOs), traditional leaders, resident district commissioners etc. Basically, they try to please everyone and end up doing work that doesn’t belong to them. Others make themselves BAKEMBAGA (party animals) since they have to attend and speak at every merry making occasion in their villages whereas others can`t afford missing the digging of graves i.e burying the dead. Of course this is usually done to please voters so that they can be voted into power again. Unless this issue is tackled, Parliament will keep experiencing absentee legislators. Personally, I suggest that you pass a law dictating that every legislator must serve only one (1) term. Once the law is passed, legislators will not act so low before their electorate since there will be no chance of being voted again and will end up doing their actual work. Apart from the “constituency work,” other legislators are involved in their personal businesses that restrain them from attending parliamentary sessions. To curb this, you must behave like a secondary school headmistress since Africans naturally understand if they are pressed to the wall. I propose that you introduce a parliament attendance register and ensure that you personally check attendance on a daily basis. In the attendance book that is currently in the house, legislators are free to register their names and later walk out at will. This should be changed and you instead loudly read out names while ticking the people in attendance. The time you read out the names should be very unpredictable and done anytime during the course of the sessions. Once the people in attendance for a particular session have been identified, pay them right away. Kindly change from paying them salaries at the end of the month to daily wages and let the pay be KAGWIRAHO (there and then). In Rukiga, we say, “OTARIHO TAGWEGWA MUTI” (a person that is not that scene can be hit by a falling tree). Therefore if a person is not present, let him not get paid. Even the holy book states that He who doesn’t work should not eat. Once they become broke, they will have no choice but to always answer, “PRESENT MADAM!” If you remember well, secondary school head teachers were no nonsense and whenever a student would refuse to attend class, they had no problem with sending him for a parent. In this case, we the voters are the parents of the legislators. So if they don’t want to do what we sent them for, why don’t you send them back to us and we show them FIRE. Kindly seek our disciplinary measures and we show you who we are. Lastly, whenever a student would refuse to change even after several warnings, head teachers had no problem with expelling them. I know that there is a rule that states that if an MP doesn’t attend parliament, he can be thrown the exit but you have not put it into use. Chase a couple of M.Ps and see how these guys will flock the house. Remember, an expelling head teacher is highly respected and vice versa. So if you want these stubborn guys to understand that you don’t only stop at barking, bite a number of them and you will see. Yours in disappointment, AD.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 07:22:14 +0000
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