Netters, Well said.
LM ======================================================= We are under a new politics Ofwono’s Option TWO interesting and related political developments happened last week, which, in my view are calculated to subvert efforts towards democracy governance and open accountability by those in powerful institutions. The first was Aggrey Awori’s (MP for Samia-Bugwe North) comeback with political falsehoods at Makerere University that the Movement and President Yoweri Museveni were manipulating the Constitutional Review process. The second was the surprising uproar in Parliament by a section of MPs on complaints that some within their numbers solicit for bribes and favours from some public officers under investigations. But it seems the uproar was meant to intimidate anybody questioning the conduct of some MPs in a genuine effort to build integrity and accountability. Although the accusation was pointed towards members of a specific committee, the wholesome uproar was meant to galvanise the entire Parliament to create the impression that the Legislature was under threat. It was mob psychology at work. Analysts often argue that talk is cheap but free speech is not. However some people must be prepared to pay the political price to confront powerful institutions to build good systems. The way Ugandans are questioning the Executive, is the same way they should srcutinise the Legislature and the Judiciary. Obviously some public officials are corrupt and may wish to blackmail investigators; but it is a cardinal principle of democracy and natural justice that accused persons must be given a fair and transparent hearing. Justice must not only be done, but also be seen to be done so that ill feelings and a sense of persecution are removed. MPs cannot claim immunity and being beyond reproach when the public, to which they are accountable, perceive them to be unfair! Parliament is a public body to which every resident in Uganda should feel free to petition, instead of running away from it as they have been doing with the police and other armed forces. As the frontiers of democracy keep expanding in our country, no public institution should claim to be beyond close and legitimate scrutiny. The public should be free to make complaints even if they are unfounded. But it is the authorities to evaluate the authenticity of those allegations instead of brushing them aside. Now back to Awori. While addressing the annual law conference at the Faculty of Law, he alleged that the Movement and Museveni were spending sh120m per month to “engineer” proposals for constitutional amendments. The theme of the conference was “Freedoms, personal and national security; what limits and responsibilities for guaranteeing democracy and constitutionalism?” The scheme, Awori claimed, was to construct a “third term project” for Museveni, give him unfettered powers to dissolve Parliament and to hire and fire district chief administrative officers (CAOs) at will. Awori claimed that this mischievous scheme was being operated at sub-county levels throughout the country. Apart from being a deliberate populist political lie, the allegations are meant to keep Awori and his likes in the public limelight. There is no such scheme however. Prof. Frederick Sempebwa’s Constitution Review Commission (CRC) should listen even to the wildest of proposals from Ugandans and at the end compile a comprehensive balanced report. In spite of false but often intimidating allegations, Ugandans should not shy away from making honest and bold proposals for constitutional amendments to the CRC, if they believe the suggestions will build and consolidate a viable democracy in Uganda. It is then on the basis of the report that Parliament, district councils or voters in a national referendum will debate and take a popular decision on constitutional amendments. For the record, this is the same Awori who, between 1998 and 2000, claimed he had contacts with Uganda’s estranged allies Angola, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and the late DR Congo president Laurent Kabila. At that time, to bolster his presidential ambitions, Awori claimed he had photographs of 114 UPDF prisoners of war (PoW) in Kabila’s hands. In spite of challenges, to this day, Awori has never proved his case either by giving the names, photographs, force numbers or villages of the alleged PoWs! Also, Awori claimed on his return from the US in 2000 he was a Harvard classmate of then US vice-president Al Gore, and that the Americans had given him a whopping US$10m for his campaign. And that, apart from campaigning in a helicopter, he would buy two vehicles for each of his campaign agents at the 950 sub-counties. Needless to add, he promised an assembly plant for motor vehicles for the people of Teso. Awori and other politicians who largely depend on falsehoods to the public ought to be told time and time again that this type of politics is fast receding. Ofwono Opondo is director of information at the Movement Secretariat Published on: Friday, 22nd November, 2002 __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus – Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
