Former Deputy Speaker of Parliament, also Omoro County MP Jacob Oulanyah has said that the 11th Parliament owes Ugandans a duty to restore the dignity and reputation of the legislative arm of government.
Speaking after taking oath today, Oulanyah said Members of Parliament are no longer respected amongst Ugandans because a lot has gone wrong, and the public believes that many legislators are self-seekers who only go to parliament to enrich themselves, saying this must change.
Oulanya who is standing for Speaker of the 11th Parliament says the house needs to refocus its priorities and put more emphasis on national interest and perfecting service delivery for the people instead of debating things that don't hold. He says that anything short of this will water down the relevance of the house to the people of Uganda.
He says that the public is watching, as legislators scramble for money, citing the 20 million Shillings that was given to each MP at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, causing discomfort amongst Ugandans, and the hundreds of millions that each legislator receives in order to purchase vehicles.
Oulanya handed over the Deputy Speaker of Parliament on Wednesday, following expiry of his term.
He argues that the 11th Parliament also has the mandate to restore its relationship with other arms of government, among them the Executive and the Judiciary, which has been broken often as a result of petty squabbles. He adds that a functional relationship between the three arms is important for the enhancement of good governance.
