By: Ismael Kasooha

KAMPALA

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, has met a delegation of members of Parliament of Zimbabwe, to share experiences on how whips facilitate the legislative agenda in Parliament.

The meeting took place at the Prime Minister’s Office in Kampala.

The Chief Whips from the Parliament of Zimbabwe, are in Uganda to benchmark on how to effectively play their role in facilitating Parliamentary business. The visiting delegation, which included their Leader of Opposition, was led by the Government Chief Whip Pupurai Togarepi.

Nabbanja welcomed the delegation to Uganda and said such benchmarking exercises will greatly improve the legislative agendas, in the respective partner states.  She took the visiting delegation through the role of the Leader of Government Business in the Parliament of Uganda.

“Uganda and Zimbabwe are brotherly countries with a long history of partnership. Therefore, interactions of this nature, help to strengthen our relations even further,” said Nabbanja.

She said that Uganda is a multi-party democracy and the current Parliament came into office following the General Elections last year.

“In our practice, the Ruling Party – NRM is led, in Parliament, by the Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business, whereas other parties are led by the Leader of the Opposition (LOP) who is at the level of a Cabinet Minister,” said Nabbanja.

She briefed the delegation that the mandate of the Office of Leader of Government Business is to coordinate and provide the Government’s legislative agenda, which is submitted to the President to be included in the State of the Nation Address at the beginning of every Parliamentary session.

“Rule 28 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Uganda stipulates that the Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business in Parliament tables Business for the succeeding week every Thursday. This comprises Bills for First Reading, Motions, Statements from different Ministries and responses to matters of National Importance that are raised by Members of Parliament,” said Nabbanja.

She said that all political parties with representation in Parliament are funded by Government according to their numerical strength and believes that this arrangement is good for the health of our democracy.

The delegation from Zimbabwe in a group photo with the Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja (center) and 2DPM Rt. Hon. Gen. Moses Ali (2nd left)

“The current NRM Government and President Yoweri Museveni have been in charge of the country for the last 36 years. This has been through successive elections where the people of Uganda have chosen the Party and our President to lead them. During this period, Government has made tremendous strides in the transformation of the lives of our people,” said Nabbanja.

She said that Patriotism, Pan Africanism, Democracy and Social Economic Transformation are some of the driving ideologies of the NRM Government.

In their remarks, the visiting delegation from the Parliament of Zimbabwean said that they would love President Yoweri Museveni to be given an opportunity to ideologically orient new presidents in Africa for the continuity of our values.

Pupurai Togarepi, the Chief Whip of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, the leader of the delegation, while meeting the Prime Minister of Uganda Robinah Nabbanja in Kampala says that new African leaders need a president to guide them on leadership and Pan Africanism.

“Any person who has a revolutionary background admires him. We want those leaders who stand up and defend the interests of Africa and President Museveni is the person we look up to. And we hope before he goes he instills the same African Patriotism, same ‘Africanness’, that pride to be African to the coming presidents,” said Pupurai.

He said that if President Museveni does not do that Africa might lose such values that promote the love for Africa.

Pupurai said that they are in Uganda to benchmark the best practices on how parliamentary business is run.

Paurina Mpariwa, the Leader of Opposition in Zimbabwe commended Uganda for its policies that have empowered women in positions of leadership.

Others who attended the meeting included the Second Deputy Prime Minister who is also Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament Retired General Moses Ali.

The Premier also had an interaction with a delegation from Sierra Leone led by Rugiato Rosy Kanu who are in Uganda to benchmark Uganda’s Parliamentary Pension system.

In the last two months several delegations have visited Uganda to benchmark its Parliamentary system including, Ghana, Zambia, Ethiopia, Netherlands and Zimbabwe.

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