Kadaga renews call for panel of speakers

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has renewed her calls for a panel of Speakers to help preside over parliament sittings.

Kadaga made the call on Thursday during the plenary sitting. This followed her apology for arriving late to preside over the session citing many meetings she was attending.

Parliament’s afternoon sittings are scheduled to start at 2 pm but the Speaker entered the Chambers at 3 pm.

She appealed to Members of Parliament to plan and move a motion before the Christmas holiday in regard to having in place a panel of speakers who will be charged with presiding over the House when the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are attending other engagements.

This is the second time this year that Kadaga is making the call. During the June State of Nation Address, she said that government should consider as a matter of urgency, the review of Article 82 of the Constitution, which concerns the Office of the Speaker of Parliament.

Kadaga then noted that the Article gives the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker the mandate as the only officials to preside over Parliament.

She said that since the 6th Parliament, MPs and members of the public have been engaged in the discussion and have proposed that the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker should be assisted by a speaker’s panel.

“In other jurisdictions, Speakers are supported by a panel of chairpersons. You have just met the member of the panel from the Kenya Senate and they assist in handling part of the work,” Kadaga said then.

In her past statements, Kadaga said the two speakers are overstretched, which affects the way they conduct parliamentary business.

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