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Emmanuel D. Kavuma
I don’t do personalities. I am only exposing the
flawlessness and inadequacy of the Constitution which implausibly
permits an elected MP to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker of
Parliament while still retaining his/her parliamentary seat!
There is nothing to be paranoid about my altruistic criticism
and hopefully it won’t be misconstrued with insinuations
of attacking the incumbents.
The fundamental principle of democracy is the avoidance
of conflict of interest in any situation. It was an astonishing
oversight in the constitution-making for elected MPs to
be allowed to chair parliamentary proceedings without resigning
their seats.
The reputation of the Speaker/Deputy Speaker as being impartial
must remain unsullied without being questionable.
Land affects every one - dead or alive - including the unborn.
I detest offering indignities to the remains of my beloved
ones if land grabbers in the name of ‘investing’
and ‘developing’ - euphemism for land cabalism
-Butabika style, desecrated their graves! Through their
representatives in Parliament, every Ugandan ought to have
a say on the Land Bill.
I instinctively believe that voters of Bukoto Central,
‘represented’ by Speaker Edward Sekandi, and
those of Kamuli by Deputy Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, are unfairly
short-changed.
Their will is blatantly flouted since their views can’t
be voiced by the very people they elected to speak for them,
because Sekandi and Kadaga don’t take sides while
presiding over debates. It is a glaring anomaly and crippling
affront to democracy.
There is pressing reality for affected members to choose
between the two conflicting roles. The Speaker and his deputy
have indisputably tried to raise the profile and dignity
of Parliament, which tolerates fraudsters and other undesirables,
by not allowing it to go down market.
Well regarded as they may be, I fail to comprehend how
they can be equal to their main responsibility of passionately
representing their constituents’ interests and problems
when they have at the same time to excise impartiality!
The argument that some other countries have similar arrangement
doesn’t add up. After all, not many other countries
have special seats for the disabled, women, and the military!
Britain’s David Blunkett, who can’t be marginalised,
is a blind remarkably competent MP and former outstanding
Home Secretary. He doesn’t represent the disabled
but all people in his constituency.
UK, cradle of democracy, may encourage women to become
MPs, yet there are no special seats reserved for them in
the House of Commons, as in Uganda.
Uganda’s gender politics is synonymous with semi-backwardness
because basically we are about all the same things every
human being cares about. Poverty, soaring food costs, deadliest
diseases, corruption, potholes (craters), lack of medicine,
transport or housing, affect everybody, regardless.
Hillary Clinton is not using femininity for her American
presidential nomination. Sylvia Tamale, a well-educated
lawyer who is formidably articulate, magnetically attracts
me. I would despise her if she stood as Woman MP when she
is capable of ‘wrestling’ and ‘flooring’
[intellectually] men to win any suitable constituency.
By creating special seats for women, Uganda tacitly and
implicitly promotes the loathsome view that women are ‘inferior’
and thus need patronising to enter Parliament! If parties
selected women candidates purely on merit, as in the UK,
there wouldn’t be any excuse for women only constituencies.
Suitability is often substituted for political sloganeering.
Sycophantic praise-singing overrides competence and the
best singers outshine others to become official candidates.
Such light weights need to be ‘protected’ from
the rigours of open competition with men.
Many women of high calibre, some appearing presidential,
could easily replace men whose eloquence and performance
in Parliament are shockingly despicable, if favouritism
and dubious yard-sticks were abandoned in selections.
Ironically, mediocre MPs, men and women, including education
forgers, are conspicuously recognisable by their dead quietness
during debates due to their incapacity to express themselves!
It is, therefore, sensible to change the Constitution, as
happened before, to suit Uganda’s politics without
blindly following some countries like copycats!
Once an elected MP becomes Speaker or Deputy Speaker, he/she
resigns the constituency, which must immediately be declared
vacant and by-elections held.
With no constituencies, President’s nominees are
not affected because they represent no body. The credibility
of the anachronistic system that allows people to play double
conflicting roles is severely eroded and should be shredded.
It may give special clout to the holders but must be discarded
if democracy is not to be mocked. No one can appropriately
and effectively serve two masters with conflicting interests.
The author is a Ugandan who lives and works
in London, UK.
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