By Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda
July 2, 2003-Monitor
|
Members of Parliament who sit on the Presidential and Foreign Affairs Committee have been asked to stop panicking whenever they meet with President Yoweri Museveni. The MP for Lira Municipality, Ms Cecilia Ogwal, said yesterday that every time they meet with the president, MPs develop cold feet and fail to raise serious issues. “When we go there people get mesmerised,” said the newly elected committee chairwoman, Ms Salaamu Musumba. Musumba had called a meeting of her committee to draw up a plan, which includes meeting Museveni, Vice President Gilbert Bukenya, Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs James Wapakhabulo. The committee oversees the activities of the above offices. Ogwal asked Musumba to seek an appointment with Museveni, so that the president can brief MPs about the 2003/4 budget, his economic and political plans. Ogwal said that MPs have a tendency of falling silent or asking trivial questions whenever they meet the president. Ogwal said that the money allocated to State House in the 2003/4 budget is much more than that allocated to poverty eradication. She said that money for the welfare of the people in the State House should never be higher than that for fighting poverty. Musumba said that before approving the various budgets, the committee should visit all their installations and headquarters. She said that whenever the president goes upcountry he either sleeps in tents or hotels. “Do we need the many state lodges around the country?” Musumba asked. She said that Parliament has for the last five years been approving money to renovate the Entebbe State House, and wondered whether any work has been done. She said that the committee would visit Entebbe and assess whether the State House there is of any value. |
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
