Rampant Absenteeism of Ministers, MPs Frustrates Plenary Sessions
Tuesday's early adjournment of the House's first meeting due to the absence of legislators and ministers during plenary prompted the Speaker to issue a firm warning to MPs who avoid plenary sessions, calling it as a "misuse of taxpayer money."
Rampant Absenteeism of Ministers, MPs Frustrates Plenary Sessions
Tuesday’s early adjournment of the House’s first meeting due to the absence of legislators and ministers during plenary prompted the Speaker to issue a firm warning to MPs who avoid plenary sessions, calling it as a “misuse of taxpayer money.”
The House’s ability to quickly handle important items on the order paper for the day is being hampered by Members of Parliament and Ministers who routinely skip plenary sessions in Parliament.
Concerned members complained to the Speaker Anita Among at a plenary session on Wednesday, claiming that Ministers had repeatedly skipped multiple House sessions in violation of rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament.
The situation of more than 30 elementary schools in his area that don’t have pit latrines is one of several issues that Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu, the Kalungu County West Member of Parliament, claims he has brought up in the last six months.
Ssewungu claims he has attempted to get a reaction from Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, who is in charge of conducting government business in Parliament, but to no avail. He adds that a number of other cabinet members purposefully skip out on plenary sessions or show up late on purpose.
Mathias Mpuuga, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LoP), stated that the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), which has three deputies, is also plagued by chronic absenteeism and has failed to discipline ministers who frequently skip plenary sessions, which stifles the House’s activity.
In response, the Government Chief Whip, Hamson Denis Obua, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for Ajuri County in the Alebtong District, issued an apology to the House for the widespread ministerial absences and chastised them for not making Parliamentary work a top priority.
The lawmakers are concerned that although if Parliament has plenary sessions three times a week, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., it is still absurd for all 30 Cabinet Ministers and 50 of their deputies to skip plenary meetings.
When parliamentarians and ministers failed to show up for the first meeting of the House on Tuesday, the Speaker Among adjourned it early. She then issued a warning to lawmakers who skipped plenary sessions, calling it a “misuse of taxpayers’ money.”
One of them instructed the Clerk of Parliament, Adolf Mwesige Kasaija, to keep track of the attendance of the Members of Parliament so that any absentees would be out in the open and subject to repercussions.
A member who skips 15 consecutive plenary sessions without permission from the Speaker runs the possibility of losing their seat as a result. Errant Ministers can be ousted by Parliament by censor motion. URN
