Museveni expected to attend first regional parliament sitting in Gulu

ANITA AMONG: Boycotters won’t stop regional parliament sittings

GULU, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | President Museveni is expected to attend the Parliamentary sitting in Gulu City on Thursday according to Hamson Obua, the Government’s Chief Whip.

Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among has meanwhile defended the move to hold regional parliamentary sittings. She insists it will not put the tax payer’s money to waste.

Plans to spend over twenty billion shillings for the regional parliamentary sitting have attracted criticism within and outside Parliament.

However, Anita Among who early on Tuesday paid homage to the home of the late speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah in Omoro said holding the regional parliamentary sittings is normal.

She explained that parliament is not just a building situated in Kampala but can sit anywhere around the country with the proclamation of the speaker as enshrined in the law.

“Those who are saying they will boycott or whichever, it is going to continue happening until we say stop. Parliament will sit here, it will go to another region, it will go to another, but the priority was Gulu for us to recognize that the late speaker of parliament came from Gulu. This is in memory of the late Oulanyah,” says Among.

The regional Parliamentary sitting will be held in four traditional regions of Northern, Eastern, Western, and Central Uganda with the sitting commencing for the first time at Kaunda Playgrounds in Gulu city from August 28th to 30th.

The speaker noted that the regional parliamentary sitting in Gulu City will come with added advantages in terms of boosting the economy adding that key issues affecting the greater north will be identified and given priority in budgeting.

According to Among, various parliamentary committees have been in the region collecting views and key issues affecting greater Northern Uganda which shall be discussed during the sitting in Gulu city.

“Whoever is there saying- no sitting, no sitting, we shall sit. And that business of saying we aren’t going to Gulu, those people don’t love you. And that business of saying we are spending Shs20Bn or Shs5Bn, what is wrong with spending money in Gulu? Why do you want to spend it in Kampala? We are going to spend money in Gulu and that money is budgeted for and what we are doing is budget neutral, what we are spending is money for our inland travel,” Among said later on local radio.

During a tour of the late speaker’s home in Ayom Lony village in Lalogi Sub- County, Among promised to meet President Museveni over the uncompleted construction of late Oulanyah’s mansion. This was after Oulanyah’s father Nathan L’Okori, requested the government to support the family in completing the construction of the house which has stalled since the demise of the former speaker.

“This house is left with only completion, I want the government to help me to complete the house,” the 95-year-old told the speaker.

Among later laid a wreath on the grave of Oulanyah and promised to continue supporting the family members. Oulanyah died in March 2022 in the United States of America from multiple organ failures after battling with cancer.

She also officiated the launch of a radio station in Omoro District, presided over a health camp at Pece Primary School in Gulu City, and officiated the construction of a wall fence at Kaunda Playgrounds, all part of a pre-events for the Parliamentary sitting on Wednesday.

Gilbert Olanya, Kilak South Legislator in Amuru District however disagrees with the Leader of Opposition on boycotting the sitting arguing that their absence as area leaders would mean a disservice to their people.

According to Olanya, the sitting should be an action-oriented session that will help to address the long-term issues that have remained unaddressed for decades citing land matters, migrant cattle keepers (Balaalo), nodding syndrome) and the compensation of war victims.

Some of the issues to be presented tomorrow include the status of government assurances on the compensation of victims of war and insurgencies in the sub-regions of West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Karamoja, Teso, and Sebei, report of the sectoral committee on tourism, trade, and industry on the state and prospects of tourism sites in northern Uganda.

Others are the report of the sectoral committee on physical infrastructure on the state of transport infrastructure (roads, bridges, railways, and airfields) in Northern Uganda and the presentation of the petition on the need for reform and enhancement of youth empowerment programs in Northern Uganda.

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URN