Opposition refuses Oulanya’s position on old business. In response to the Speakers’ action towards pending business from the 10th parliament during Tuesday plenary, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, the Leader of Opposition said that lapsing of Parliament of Uganda‘s business is a serious indictment on parliament’s methods of work given the cost of processing Bills.
The Leader of Opposition has advised that Parliament’s Rules Committee needs to urgently revisit rules regarding reinstatement of business.
Mpuuga noted that private members meet a lot of costs to process and move a Bill in parliament and that these efforts should not be frustrated.
Wilfred Niwagaba, the Shadow Attorney-General took to the floor and noted that he intends to bring a substantive motion under Rule 87 to vary the Speaker’s ruling especially in respect to business that had not gone to the President so that the business that was still pending in committees can be reinstated.
However, Speaker Oulanyah rejected Niwagaba’s request saying that his proposed motion would be in violation of Rule 235 (4) which requires it to come in the second sitting of the first session of Parliament.
Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the Kira Municipality MP said that the number of Bills that have by the Speaker’s ruling collapsed is unprecedented in the history of parliament.
Besides the NSSF Bill, the others affected by the Speaker’s decision are the Sexual Offences Bill, the Succession Bill, The National Health Insurance, The Fisheries Amendment Bill, 2020, and National Climate Change Bill, 2020, Anti-Slavery Bill 2020, National Local Content Bill, the Real Estates Bill 2020, the Estates of Missing Persons (Management) Amendment Bill 2019, Land Lord and Tenant Bill 2019, Marriage and Divorce Bill 2015, the Succession Amendment Bill 2020 and others.
The Speaker on 16th September 2021, revealed to the house that, Bills that were passed by the 10th Parliament and are pending Presidential assent and those returned by the President in accordance with Article 91 of the Constitution, but outside the term of the Tenth Parliament, are also considered a business that lapsed and should be considered afresh.
The Speaker’s guidance means that government Bills that lapsed with the Tenth Parliament will now have to be published, reprinted, and introduced in Parliament afresh, the same applies to Private Members Bills.
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