By Mulengera Reporters
In a bid to woo the NUP universe into embracing his speakership bid, Speakership contender Norbert Mao (who was already endorsed by Jimmy Akena’s UPC) has started making public statements that are complementary towards the National Unity Platform and more so the Leader of Opposition Joel Senyonyi who is one of the consequential decision makers inside the Kavule-based political party.
During his Tuesday news conference in Kampala at DP headquarters, Mao criticized the incumbent Speaker Anita by claiming that she had personalized the conduct of business under the Parliamentary Commission, which by law is mandated to run the legislature.
He also castigated the incumbent over claims that under the current arrangement, “the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are above the rules of accountability because of so-called sensitive office they hold.” Mao assured reporters that all this will end the day he takes over office as Speaker of the 12th Parliament.
The DP President claimed that, even when he is a member of the Commission by statute, LoP Joel Ssenyonyi had systematically been purged and sidelined from the Commission meetings simply because the top leadership at Parliament is uncomfortable with his uncompromising stand against corruption and dirty deals at the legislature.
He said that the persecution Joel Ssenyonyi has endured as LoP at Parliament simply because some people are uncomfortable with his clean record and incorruptibility, amounted to dehumanizing the office of LoP, which is a very important ingredient under Parliamentary democracy. He said he intends to reach out more deliberately to Joel Ssenyonyi and assure him of better treatment and a good working relationship with a more inclusive Speaker once he takes charge next month.
Mao also claimed that independent-minded and well-meaning leaders like Joel Ssenyonyi had effectively been undermined because the perpetrators of such informality at Parliament had succeeded in diluting and blunting the authority of the Budget Office which he said he and others had deliberately created at Parliament with the sole purpose of ensuring the integrity of budgeting processes at the national assembly.
He said the role meant to be played by that office had since been hijacked in favour of ad-hoc and self-serving decision making regarding the appropriation of Parliamentary resources.
Describing himself as a leader coming in to use the Speakership platform “to make the difference as opposed to making money [for self-aggrandizement],” Mao vowed to work with all well-meaning leaders like Joel Ssenyonyi and other libera-minded actors in the NUP, the NRM and the broader opposition caucus to right the wrongs of Anita Among era.
Saying he is aware of plans to liquidate him through poisoning and isolating him through bribing and locking up his ardent supporters, Mao vowed to fight to the very bitter end as opposed to merely walking away from the Speakership fight.
He said he is in this race not to seek personal fame but for the sake of the need to redeem Parliament, an institution he said is on the verge of being obliterated through corruption deals. The Oracle from Gulu claimed to have received hundreds of phone calls from people cautioning him to tread carefully while at Kyankwanzi, lest he gets poisoned.
Mao also laughed off the election petition challenging his victory as MP Laroo-Pece claiming that the petitioner is merely a proxy of people who are nervous and having sleepless nights over his Speakership bid. He claimed there would be no such petition if he hadn’t declared his ambition to become the Speaker of Parliament.
Mao also thanked the local residents back home in Gulu who he said had resorted to shunning the recreation business and the corporate night bar operated by his petitioning opponent because they don’t want to see anyone antagonizing his bid to rescue Parliament from obscurantist leadership. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
