By Muhumuza jimmy
Parliament
The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has slapped tough sanctions on Opposition legislators who are boycotting parliamentary sittings, banning them from attending committee meetings and other parliament business.
However, the opposition has disregarded the sanctions as blackmail intended to intimidate them to return to the house with no deal over their issues
Anita Among the parliament speakers opened today’s afternoon sitting on a tough tone as she went bare knuckles on all legislators who miss plenary sittings without formal clearance from or knowledge of her office.
In a strict directive issued in her opening communication to the House, Among ordered that all legislators who miss and or intend to skip plenary sittings individually notify her office for formal clearance, lest they risk the worst.
Among noted that the boycotting MPs can’t continue participating in other house business like committee meetings, and travel inland and abroad among other things.
She also stretched the arm to direct the removal of opposition MPs on squads of parliamentary sports teams to represent Uganda’s forthcoming East African Parliamentary Games slated for December in Rwanda which come with hefty allowances.
The house speaker also directed that NRM MPs sitting on accountability committees which are chaired by the opposition by law, elect interim leadership among themselves to steer committees during this period of the boycott.
However, the spokesperson of the opposition in Parliament Joyce Bagala Ntwatwa together with other opposition legislators have downplayed sanctions by the speaker, saying they are not backed up by law
“The directives have attracted mixed reactions from the NRM MPs as some believe they are farfetched while others have welcomed them”.
Notably, Rule 112(5) of the parliamentary rules of procedure provides that in exceptional cases, the Whip of a political organization or a political party may inform the Speaker of a Member’s absence and the circumstances leading to such absence.
