NRM in a state of bother over the post of speakership
By Jeremiah Kaniampiha
Many Ugandans believe there is general weakness among Ugandan politicians; they do not want to leave power! Be it opposition or any other; they all want to die in the ‘chair” as they always refer to it (entebbe).
Well, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has directed Rebecca Kadaga, and her deputy Jacob Oulanyah, to reduce on ‘the fire’ as they contest for speakership of the 11th parliament.
A statement issued last Friday by Emmanuel Dombo, the NRM Director of Information, Publicity and Public Relations, said that since the general elections were conducted, the jostling for the positions of the Speaker and Deputy speaker has reached unprecedented levels hitherto unheard of.
Dombo says he has been directed by the NRM Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumbumba to remind the honorable members about the subsisting legal framework and the general expectations under the NRM code of conduct, and the need for NRM members to remain united in preparation for the challenges ahead.
“It is this cohesion that will enable the NRM to deliver on its promises as we secure the future of the people of Uganda,” he said.
Dombo says that whereas the two positions are elective by the Members of Parliament, it is important that members of NRM remain united for a purpose and they should therefore refer to each other with respect and decorum.
“The senior members of Parliament know that the rules of Parliament require of each member to relate with respect. The NRM code of conduct even goes much further to set standards and specify prohibited conduct. When these two are read together, they do not leave any room for guesswork in as far as relating with decorum,” he says.
He says that it has been the procedure in the past, that the Central Executive Committee of the NRM provides guidance to the NRM MPs, and once the modalities for providing such guidance are concluded, the concerned members will be notified.
He says that this is a long old tested method of work that is applied worldwide, with the appropriate modifications.