Nkonge Sultan Ahmedie
When the official opposition party in Parliament made changes in the Parliamentary Committees, it became talk of the nation as if it was happening for the first time. Far from it, this has been the norm by all presidents of the mighty FDC party to make changes in the leadership at Parliament for the smooth running of our priority operations as opposed to massaging the oppressor. But when current President POA acted, more questions were raised regarding the suitability of senior Counsel Abdul Katuntu being replaced by Hon. Munyagwa Mubarak. NRM did the same changing committee leaderships and the notable ones were Hon Judith Nabakooba who used to chair Defense and Internal Affairs Committee. The same changes also affected Hon Muhammad Nsereko who used chair the committee of Equal Opportunities. The duo and others accepted changes, moved on and life carried on like before. But when it came to COSASE, a lot of questions were raised to which the public got the answers but others still question the propriety of Hon Munyagwa Mubarak replacing Hon Katuntu. My answer is yes Hon Munyagwa can and will soon put skeptics to shame. What is so special about being a Chairperson of COSASE? Is calling for hands and picking those to speak or reading to the plenary a report written by the Parliamentary technical staff so difficult? Whatever is produced in the Parliamentary Committees is an outcome of all members’ combined efforts and their inquisitive capabilities. It’s never a one man’s show. There is a team of technical staff paid by the tax payer that polishes the final report for members to make final consultations before appending signatures. A Chairperson is only the flag bearer of the work done jointly by both MPs and Parliamentary Staff. COSASE has its Lead Counsel Hon Medard Segona whose capabilities none should doubt. Again Hon Katuntu remains the member of COSASE and through the wisdom of the new chairman he can as well designate him to chair the uncompleted business. We don’t wish for our senior Counsel Hon Katuntu to produce a precedent of refusing to handover to Hon Munyagwa when his time is clearly up. Hon Katuntu likes using the word decency and it’s all that must apply here. When Hon Munyagwa was appointed, the Speaker asked for more time for the Hon Katuntu Committee to present reports of finished inquires and to everyone’s dismay, they instead began fresh inquiries into Bank of Uganda. And to their credit, this inquiry has unearthed things no sane Ugandan can ever forget regarding the banking sector.
But still in future some people might demand another forensic audit into the way Hon Katuntu handled Mrs Justine Bagyenda. Her passport had previously been confiscated but she was subsequently permitted to travel abroad for mere holiday when many victims of her high handedness continue agonizing in pain her arbitrary actions caused. Many can’t afford medical bills, meals and school fees of their children yet Bagyenda herself continues to be handled with kids’ gloves. Why put her escort and driver in the coolers to have Xmas there when the principal continues to be at large? Here is the danger with allowing the Hon Katuntus to go on for an eternity: What if the 5 year term of Parliament expires when the job hasn’t yet been completed? Will Rt Hon Speaker extend it still for them to complete the unfinished business? Will the EC be asked to wait for them before new MPs can be sworn in? The opposition, more so FDC to which I subscribe, believes in changing leadership to allow others to offer their skills to make Uganda better. The Committees were created to checks on government expenditures. Gratefully, the LoP has acted consistent to that by refusing to grant the Hon Katuntus any further extension of their tenure for COSASE to pave way for Hon Munyagwa and Hon Moses Kasibante to take charge. On behalf of the FDC young people that I represent, I wish to thank the former opposition leadership headed by Hon Winnie Kiiza for the efforts and energy they expended towards building a strong opposition force. We also thank the current Spokesperson of the Minority Hon Nambooze Betty for the energy she has brought to that hitherto not very active office. She has started on a good note being visible and informative on all issues going on in Parliament regarding the opposition business. May the Almighty bless the entire opposition leadership within and outside Parliament! For God & My Country. The author describes himself as FDC politician and activist.
