In June this year, President Yoweri Museveni appointed a Cabinet of about 80 Ministers whom he described as “fishermen” as he argued that the Ministers would surprise the country by delivering beyond expectations.
In addition to their roles of giving political leadership and policy guidance in the particular ministries, ministers constitutionally become Members of Parliament either on ground of being elected or as ex-officios.
Led by the Prime Minister as the Leader of Government Business, the Ministers and State Ministers are automatic occupants of the front bench during plenary sittings of Parliament.
However, those who served under former Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, in the last term were fond of absenteeism from plenary sittings, an act which usually angered then Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and her Deputy Jacob Oulanyah.
At times in the 10th Parliament, the presiding Speakers adjourned the sittings of Parliament because of the absence of the Ministers whose items continued to be skipped on the Order Papers.
On one occasion, current Speaker Oulanyah, while serving as Deputy Speaker, proposed that Parliament organizes an event to award with certificates the few Ministers who consistently attended the House to respond to issues touching their dockets.
Now, the 11th Parliament, which is five months into its life, has started experiencing the same problem of Ministers absenting themselves from plenary sittings. During the Tuesday plenary sitting, Deputy Speaker Anita Among wondered why the Ministers have continued to elude the House even when the Order Paper is communicated to them in time.
“I am not happy that the Ministers are not here in the House. The front page is empty. It is unacceptable and it is a shame to us. I don’t know what the appointing authority thinks because we have so many backbenchers who wanted to be here (front page),” stated Among.
At the start of the plenary sitting, there were less than 10 Ministers occupying the front bench to the extent that the Speaker told the House she had allowed Igara West MP Gafa Mbwatekamwa to sit there.
State Minister for Finance in charge of General Duties, Henry Musasizi, took charge as the acting leader of Government Business, something that made the MPs furious.
“Section 108 (a) of the Constitution provides for the Office of the Prime Minister. It even can as an amendment that the Prime Minister shall be the leader of government business. The situation at hand is delegating this House to a secondary position,” said Medard Sseggona, the MP of Busiro East.
Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda weighed in on the matter saying a junior minister cannot represent the Prime Minister when there are many Deputy Prime Ministers.
“You can see the Honorable Musasizi is afraid to sit where the Prime Minister sits,” the outspoken Ssemujju said.
The Deputy Speaker informed the House that she only had a communication that Minister Musasizi was representing Government Chief Whip Thomas Tayebwa, who is away in South Africa.
The loaded Prime Minister’s Office is led by Robinah Nabbanja, who is assisted by three Deputy Prime Ministers. Former Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga is the First Deputy Prime Minister, followed by Gen Moses Ali as Second Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business, and Rukia Nakadama is the Third Deputy Prime Minister.
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