In 2013, a study of the Hansard—the official record of Parliament, indicated that more than 130 Ugandan MPs had spoken less than 15 times in the first two years of their stay in the House.
Could it be that MPs prefer to keep numb and rather contribute “only when it is an issue directly affecting their voters”, the study thought to explain.
Uganda’s current Parliament is composed of 112 District Woman Representatives, among whom is renowned gospel singer Judith Babirye who represents the Buikwe constituency.
Since her stay in the house, not much has been reported of her until today when the Observer News paper wrote alleging that her silence and a rare appearance at Parliament for several weeks is igniting whispers within parliamentary corridors.
“On the contrary, Buikwe Woman MP Judith Babirye is one of the quietest as if on a mission to disguise herself from the gospel music that made her famous…Some were overheard asking questions like: which committees does she sit on? Which constituency does she represent? Is she planning a wedding?” the News paper wrote.
But is this allegation anything to go by? Has Buikwe constituency raised concern yet?
The swearing in of Members of the 10th Parliament took place on the 16th – 18th May, 2016. Is it too early for fellow MPs and Media houses to come to these conclusions?
When it comes to addressing the Parliament floor, Senior legislators recently told journalists that they believe the problem in Parliament is lack of capacity of some MPs “to engage and remain relevant to issues at hand”.
They urge that MPs elected may not be conversant with most of the issues debated in Parliament, the nature of issues debated may not enlist so much interest of those non-participating parliamentarians and it could be illustrative of the fact that there is a weak linkage between the MPs and their electorate.
male@ugchristiannews.com
