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The Monitor (Kampala)
OPINION
October 2, 2003
Posted to the web October 2, 2003
David Kibirige
Kampala
After reading the cabinet proposals to the Constitution Review Commission (CRC), I concluded that help is urgently needed. Forgive me if you think I am emotional. But I feel that help is either for Ugandan politicians or myself. The cabinet proposals made me to think that it is either I who is stupid, senile, going mad or someone else.
For starters, among the proposals cabinet wants a list on the stipulated two-term limit, powers for the president to dissolve parliament, allow a form of federalism in willing districts, cut the powers of parliament and an expansion of the size of cabinet!
They also want government to be given powers to grab the property of Ugandans.
The Vice President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, accompanied by Prime Minister Prof. Apolo Robin Nsibambi to the CRC, delivered the controversial proposals on September 23. The commission's chairman, Prof. Fredrick Ssempebwa received the proposals with aplomb.
It is reported that one of the CRC members, Prof. Festus Byarugaba had before this leaked the draft report of the commission to cabinet.
It is interesting to note that President Yoweri Museveni has a cabinet with the country's most learned people. There are seven professors namely Bukenya, Nsibambi, Tarsis Kabwegyere, Mondo Kagonyera, Edward Rugumayo, Peter Kasenene and Ssemakula Kiwanuka.
There are four Ph.D holders namely; Khidu Makubuya (former dean Faculty of Law at Makerere University), Kisamba Mugerwa, Nsaba Buturo and Kibirige Ssebunya.
Then there are thirteen lawyers namely Omwony Ojwok, Sam Bitangaro, Amama Mbabazi, Francis Ayume, Jim Muhwezi, James Wapakhabulo, Hope Mwesigye, Adolf Mwesige and Nshimye Sebutulo.
Others are Isaac Musumba, Sam Kutesa, and Mwesigwa Rukutana. We have Moses Ali who is currently pursuing a law course at Makerere University. After perusing through the report, cabinet hurriedly drafted its own proposals, which are most likely to go through (See "Ssempebwa CRC Report Was Stolen", The Monitor September 13).
What an irony that four professors are all actors in the country's biggest political drama.
To get the real picture, let us look at the demerits of some of the proposals.
Parliament thinks that districts willing to have federalism can co-operate for infrastructural development purposes.
Let us assume that Kampala wants to co-operate with Mbarara. Between these districts you find Wakiso, Mpigi, Masaka and Rakai.
So how can the roads between Mbarara and Kampala be improved when the other four districts are not part of the co-operation?
This does not need a professor to show how impractical it is. The cabinet also wants the president to dissolve Parliament. One sees a tendency towards the Idi Amin (RIP) type of administration where rule by decree was the norm.
It is ironical that these very politicians who for long have castigated Amin for his acts are now trying to entrench what they wanted to hang Amin for. The only difference is that Amin never wasted taxpayers' money creating commissions and having endless cabinet meetings to do away with parliament.
Likewise, he never wasted money on commissions to declare himself life president.
It would have done this country better if cabinet or Museveni had just declared himself life president without all this pretence. Ugandans are tired of being fooled through euphemisms.
In political lingua this is the hackneying of expressions to defend the indefensible.
When the Germans were killing Jews, a young politician by the names of Eric Adolf came to prominence because of euphemism.
When Jews were put into camps with horrible conditions, he called it concentration camps.
When Jews were put into chambers and gassed to dearth he called it elimination of undesirable elements.
When villages were bombed and thousands killed, he called it pacification of the villages.
It is like when a woman aborts. It would appear outrageous to say an unborn baby was killed. So to make it sound a bit humane we say, "a tissue was dislodged".
This is what the Movement government is now applying.
It is an insult to Ugandans that much as they have already complained about the size of the cabinet, someone is thinking of increasing it.
Oh my God! I think everyone was complaining that the president has too many powers, so for cabinet to think of giving him more is not only funny but also suicidal.
Why should it be the president to appoint Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs)?
Doesn't this defeat the very principle of decentralisation, which he has been championing?
Why should MPs not have powers to censure ministers? This time MPs are up in arms against cabinet proposals because their jobs are threatened and not out of being nationalists. Otherwise they have also been pushing for unrealistic demands like increasing their salaries, medical allowances plus creating a pension scheme for themselves.
Their sins notwithstanding, I feel the president should not have powers to dissolve parliament.
In such a scenario we lose the important checks and balances, which are important in any administrative set up.
When you read the cabinet proposals it is like a drama script. It is hard to believe that intelligent people had any input in drafting it.
That is why I suggest that if the cabinet proposals are rejected, then they should be turned into a play.
All cabinet ministers should be part of the cast. I think it will be a sell-out play given the profile of the actors. And we can call it any of the following names; Theatre of Professors, Three Professors In Circus, Betrayal by the Learned, Power At All Costs Eighteen Years of Cassava.
