M7 GIVES PARLIAMENT CLERK JANE KIBIRIGE 3 MORE YEARS

Appreciative of the administrative reforms and increased pro-people outreach programs she has enabled in the last 6 years, a graceful President Museveni has renewed the term of Clerk to Parliament Jane Kibirige.

This is going to be her 3rd term as Clerk to Parliament having first assumed office on February 9th 2012. “The President is very pleased with her performance and on being notified of her impending contract expiry next month, he had no hesitation signing off a renewal,” said a reliable State House source adding the President gave his no objection to her continuity just last week.

In the public service hierarchy, Clerk to Parliament is ranked to equal a Permanent Secretary in a Ministry since she is the accounting officer charged with all the monies appropriated to the Parliamentary Commission. Whereas most PSs averagely earn Shs15m per month, Kibirige’s is slightly above Shs20m because of the uniqueness of the assignment at hand.

At her installation in 2012, her predecessor Aeneas Tandekwire urged her to be principled, firm and resist being bullied or intimidated by MPs whom he accused of sometimes behaving as if they are God who is omnipotent.

The context to Tandekwire’s remarks was that this was at a time when the 9th Parliament, led by Kadaga, had just taken office and there was a lot of vibrancy in the House as seen in the oil bribes debate that saw MPs resolve that Ministers Amama Mbabazi, Sam Kutesa and Hillary Onek, step aside.

When the trio refused to vacate office, Kadaga led MPs in decreeing for their matter being referred to the Rules and Privileges committee of the House for “contempt of Parliament,” a term that had cautiously used previously. There was a polarizing debate that ensued and Tandekwire, who was known for fearlessly speaking his mind, took the view that the MPs and Speaker were wrong. He accused them of assuming omnipotence which they weren’t.

Museveni is happy that Kibirige has avoided controversy and is one of the very few accounting officers, if not the only one, overseeing so many billions, that have never been implicated in corruption scandal yet potentially tempting procurements have been many since she took charge.

Despite being firm, knowledgeable of the rules and being well read, she always avoids controversy and is extremely loyal to her boss Rebecca Kadaga, the speaker with whom many detractors thought they would clash. This hasn’t happened and the fondness between the two ladies is only growing stronger.

Jane Kibirige Lubowa is a devout Catholic who resides in Wakiso and is aged 57 years. She is the first female Clerk to Parliament since inception of the National Assembly and so far the only one.

Before being appointed Clerk to Parliament in a move that took everybody by surprise, given that she was barely known beyond her work place, Jane Kibirige was serving as Senior Deputy Academic Registrar Mbarara University.

As Clerk, she heads the administrative function at Parliament but is also charged with guiding and advising the Speaker on the Rules of Procedure of Parliament which is why Tandekwire urged her at inauguration to always read widely and be well conversant with the rules. She also advises Speaker on protocol of Parliament.

At Parliament in the last 6 years, Jane Kibirige has rapidly grown and transformed into a seasoned much admired bureaucrat that everyone (both NRM and opposition) respects.

She is never involved in partisan politics and one would struggle to produce any proof that she is biased for or against any political shed of opinion in execution of her Parliamentary duties.She is an avid time keeper who is always at office as early 7am. She also promptly keeps her appointments and despises those who act imprudently when it comes to keeping time. A firm believer in the delegation principle, Kibirige has also worked well with her Deputies the evidence of that being absence of any intrigue between her and them.

This is a relieving departure from Tandekwire’s days when one of his deputies Emmanuel Bakwega was accused of fighting fellow deputies (Chris Kaija & Paul G Wabwire) to succeed the boss who was beginning to become frail due to ill health.He first fell sick in 2010 and was absent on an indefinite sick leave that lasted a year. Edward Sekandi, who was Speaker of Parliament, had to come in questioning Bakwega as to why he was eyeing his boss’ seat.