Parliament business to be phased

The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has said that meetings of the Third Session of the 10th Parliament will see specific business handled.

Kadaga made the revelation in her communication during the opening of the Session and delivery of the State of the Nation Address, Wednesday, 6 June 2018 at the Kampala Serena Hotel.

The Speaker said that the first meeting will be dedicated to legislation and this will run from 6 June to 10 October, 2018.  She added that the second meeting will run from 5 November 2018 to 19 March, 2019  focusing on considering reports of Standing and Sectoral committees as well as annual reports of agencies.

“The third meeting will be dedicated to budget matters and it will run from 20 March to 31 May, 2019 ending with prorogation,” said Kadaga.

Kadaga however, expressed disappointment over the performance of the Second Session, saying that Parliament did not perform well as compared to the First Session. 

She explained that during the First Session, 17 bills were passed against 11 passed in the Second Session adding that 441 questions were answered in the First Session compared to 117 in the Second Session, while 30 committee reports were considered in the First Session against 29 in the Second Session.

She added that the prolonged consideration of the Constitutional (Amendment) No.2 Bill, 2017 also affected the performance of Parliament. She explained that the process of passing the Bill required MPs to spend time outside Parliament to consult their constituents.

“This interrupted the flow and management of work because a lot of time goes to committees which are the engines of Parliament and provide business for plenary to handle,” said Kadaga.

 

Kadaga attributed the poor performance to a host of challenges including absenteeism, slow response from ministries, departments and agencies as well as leadership gaps among committee chairpersons.  

She warned MPs against absenteeism saying that naming and shaming of absentee legislators will start in the Third Session.  

“Absenteeism and non attendance is a malaise that has affected the whole society of Uganda and Parliament has not been spared including ministers and MPs”, said Kadaga.

She pointed out that this resulted into unnecessary adjournments and delays in clearing parliamentary business.

“I want to urge ministers and members to revisit their conduct. Parliament is not just an address, it is a place where the work of the people must be handled effectively,” said Kadaga.

She added that during the Third Session, one of the committees will be disbanded.

“I do hope that members know the consequences of this action as elected representatives of the people,” said Kadaga.

The Speaker noted the need to re-consider election of committee chairpersons as a way of addressing the leadership gaps. She added that an accountability mechanism will be established requiring chairpersons to account periodically for business referred to their committees as guided by the Rules of Procedure.

“We also intend to conduct focused and specific capacity building for chairpersons and MPs. We hope this will improve their knowledge and skills in conducting Parliamentary business,” said Kadaga.

The Speaker further warned of stern action against Ministries, Department and Agencies which she said slow down the work of Parliament. She said that there are entities which are slow to respond to invitations, some take time to respond to requests for information while others deliberately provide inadequate information. 

“I urge the Prime Minister and the Leader of Government Business to exercise their oversight role and crack the whip on errant officials and entities who do not respond to the needs of the institution,” said Kadaga.