President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has congratulated the newly elected leadership of Parliament, the Speaker Rt Hon Jacob Marksons Oboth and the Deputy Speaker Rt Hon Thomas Tayebwa who were elected in what he called a transparency election
Shortly after the two Parliament Leaders were elected, President Museveni described the voting patterns for the Speaker and Deputy speakership as National Resistance Movement mobilisation strategies and expressed concerns to redress what is not going on right.
While addressing the Members of Parliament at Kololo Independence Ceremonial Grounds, President Museveni said enough is enough for lazy and inactive leaders who leave their people to languish in poverty despite the existence of government programs designed to enroll the masses into the money economy.
The President described lazy and inactive leaders as the ones who drive socioeconomic initiatives as traitors betraying their country Uganda and demanded the MPs in the 12th Parliament and leaders across board to track progress on the utilisation of PDM and other wealth creation funds disbursed to parishes in their constituencies.
He noted that the Government of Uganda has made low cost capital availed to the populace through the Parish Development Model, Youth Livelihood Funds, Emyooga and other initiatives which must deliver the population out of poverty.
President Museveni explained how he turneddown the invitation to attend celebrations by Arsenal fans due to its non-alignment to Uganda’s socioeconomic transformation cause and promised that there are rough times ahead against mediocrity among leaders.
The President congratulated the opposition political parties for their involvement in the speakership race, but rallied Members of Parliament to consolidate national gains initiated by the NRM government for further national socioeconomic transformation and development as called for unity among them.
On the issue of Ebola, President Museveni reminded the Ugandans to strictly observe standard operating procedures established to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus which has been detected in different parts of the country including Kampala City.
Earlier the 1st sitting of the 12th Parliament of Uganda overwhelmingly elected Hon Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth as the Speaker by over 440 votes.
Three candidates were in the race and they included Hon Oboth-Oboth of the National Resistance Movement who emerged winner, Hon Paul Mwiru of the National Unity Platform who was presented as the joint opposition candidate and got 60 votes and Democratic Party President General Norbert Mao who got 15 votes.
Rt Hon Oboth-Oboth was nominated by Vice President Jessica Alupo, who told the House that his extensive experience in Parliament, government and public service had equipped him to lead the institution effectively and also pointed to his endorsement by the ruling NRM and President Yoweri Museveni as a sign of confidence in his leadership credentials.
The election was presided over by Chief Justice Dr Flavian Zeija and voting was by secret ballot, with MPs required to write the name of their preferred candidate on blank ballot papers before depositing them into the ballot box.
Shortly after taking over the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon thanked God for the great day that he made and becameone of those great moments in the nation’s history.
Oboth Oboth shared passages from the Bible in the Book of Isaiah 60:22, which says, “When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”and the second passage was from the book of Habakkuk 2:3, which says, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”
He testified that faithful and strategic patience has brought him this far, and therefore cannot thank God enough and was official Speaker’s regalia by accident, but because God has made it all possible.
From a rural village in Muafu, Tororo District, Jacob Oboth Oboth struggled to attain better education, and today is a Speaker of the 12th Parliament.
He thanked the NRM Party Chairman President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for the confidence and trust he has shown his abilities since 2011 and thanked the Members of Parliament for the most sincere trusting by electing him to the highest office of Speaker of Parliament, a responsibility he received with utmost humility and modesty.
“God has spoken to Uganda through you all, through the NRM Party, through the NRM Parliamentary Caucus, and through this Parliament and the PLU pressure group. To those who may not have voted for me, I will be your Speaker too,” Rt Hon Oboth-Oboth said.
He made it categorically clear that his role now is to ensure working together, so that the voices of over 45 million Ugandans are heard, protected and respected, aware of the challenges before the elected leaders.
“pledge a corruption-free Parliament. Under my leadership, we will cultivate a culture of integrity and accountability. Accountability begins with us. In the next five years, we shall hold the Executive and other government bodies accountable, but we must first begin with ourselves. Parliament must lead by example,” He said.
“Every Bill, motion, and decision must directly respond to the needs of the ordinary citizen. Results must guide our work. Budgeting and appropriation will no longer be an exercise in financial engineering and distortion, but a results-driven endeavour to deliver services to our people,” Dr Oboth Oboth added.
The newly sworn in Speaker pledged an open Parliament, saying that Legislators must recognise that the media is not their enemy, but the public’s eye and therefore, a transparent and open Parliament strengthens trust between the House and the people.
“We must also strengthen our oversight function. Oversight should not be a postmortem. We must not wait for public funds to be lost; our committees should be empowered to act in real time to protect public resources,” He said.
He nvite all Members of Parliament to embrace these guiding pillars to restore public trust and appeal to the Parliamentary technical team for continued support as we implement necessary structural changes and promised all Ugandans that he will remain the same person and will not change in character or commitment as he will serve the Parliament and the people of Uganda with humility, modesty and honour.
Meanwhile the re-elected Deputy Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon Thomas Tayebwa has pledged to work closely with Parliament leadership, government and opposition lawmakers to strengthen democracy and support Uganda’s development agenda following his renewed mandate as Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
While speaking shortly after being declared Deputy Speaker in the 12th Parliament, Rt Hon Tayebwa thanked President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Members of Parliament and Ugandans for once again entrusting him with the responsibility to serve in the new term of office.
The Deputy Speaker described former Speaker Anita Among as both a senior leader and mentor, promising loyalty and support while also offering honest counsel whenever necessary.
Rt Hon Tayebwa also extended an olive branch to opposition lawmakers, stressing that all MPs share a common mission of improving the lives of Ugandans and fighting poverty regardless of political affiliation, saying that the MPs must balance supporting government programmes with holding public officials accountable to ensure better service delivery.
The Deputy Speaker emphasised the importance of cooperation between Parliament and government, particularly in passing appropriation bills and legislation aimed at transforming the country’s economy while maintaining Parliament’s oversight role.
Hon Tayebwa further pledged to work toward building a Parliament that earns the respect and confidence of Ugandans and concluded his remarks by calling for unity and national service.
