| Bush opposed to 3rd term for Museveni | ||
| HUSSEIN BOGERE | ||
| KAMPALA
President George W. Bush advised President Museveni to retire from politics next year when the two men met at the White House in 2003. According to US Ambassador Jimmy Kolker, Bush spoke about the importance of a peaceful political transition in Uganda.
"I was at the meeting and I am comforted in what I say - that peaceful transition is important to term limits - because I know what my President believes and I know what he said," Mr Kolker said while appearing on the Tonight with Andrew Mwenda Live talk show on 93.3 Kfm on Thursday night. "He talked about the American system and said, 'I am a rancher and I know you are a fellow rancher. I want to get back to my ranch soon, and hope you also would like to get back to your cattle one day'." The ambassador said he has offered his own advice to the President whenever asked. "I don't broadcast that advice over the radio. But I agree that Africa's problem is leaders hanging on to power." Kolker's remarks come at a time when Parliament is amending the Constitution, partly to remove presidential term limits and allow someone elected President to keep running for the office for as long as he or she sees fit. Critics say the move is meant to clear Mr Museveni to run again when his current term ends next year. The US diplomat also said it was odd for a 9-year-old Constitution, made through a highly inclusive process, to be so thoroughly amended. "It's a worry that without allowing that Constitution to run, there are over 100 amendments and many of those had sections that hadn't been tested. The US constitution was enacted in 1789, and only 27 articles have been amended." Election violence "When I arrived in 2002 my first meeting with the Speaker of Parliament, the minister of justice at the time, I brought up this issue - that there is this disturbing report about election violence." "I have never stopped recommending that that report be taken up and that laws be passed, institutions be established that... would reduce violence," said the ambassador who will be leaving within a year. "My position hasn't been the ParliamentÂ’s priority and I am disappointed. I think there is much that Uganda could do." Parliament's publicist Bernard Eceru said no action has been taken on the report because it didn't get the time on the order paper. "There have been more pressing issues like the Constitution Amendment Bill, the budget, among others," he said. "But there is a possibility of it not being debated by the 2006 general elections." The 2001 general elections were characterised by violence that included some deaths. While marking his country's 229th independence anniversary on July 1, Kolker criticised Ugandan politicians saying they should guard against corruption and political intolerance. He said that "in privatisations, procurement decisions and budget allocations, politicians too often put personal and political advantage, including outright greed, ahead of the national interest". |
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________ Ugandanet mailing list [email protected] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet % UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
