Sources in the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party say loyalty to the chairman and the party as a whole will take centre stage when a new speaker is determined in May.
Talk in the political corridors of power is that having a speaker who is loyal to the party and it’s boss are important for the organisation’s longevity.
Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and her Deputy, Jacob Oulanyah are top contenders in the race for the country’s number three position.
A number of lawmakers told this publication that what happens in the house can make or break parliamentarians political lives and have a trickle down effect on the party’s popularity.
“Many MPs, ministers lost their seats because of how some business was handled. In Buganda, what happens in parliament is clearly watched and thats how many of our colleagues lost. The party were cast in bad light,” an MP who spoke on condition of anonymity told us.
In the just concluded elections, dozens of ministers lost their parliamentary seats, something attributed partly to the rise of new kid on the block Bobi Wine, but also the ruling party lacking cohesion, partly caused by perceived disloaylty of top leaders.
NRM which has majority numbers in parliament, will have a big say on who becomes speaker. Both Oulanyah and Kadaga are NRM members of the CEC,
During the elections for CEC positions last year, the question of loyalty to the party and chairman was raised and insiders tell us it will play a big role.
In August, Minister of State for Lands, Princess Persis Namuganza put Kadaga on the spot after parliament moved a motion of displeasure in President Yoweri Museveni who is also party chairman.
“When you are in CEC you need to remain loyal to the President and the party. I promise that when I am elected, I will work closely with fellow NEC members unlike Speaker Kadaga,” Namuganza said.
Namuganza was contesting with Kadaga for the NRM second National Vice-Chairperson position. Kadaga denied the allegation of disloyalty.
In May last year, MPs passed a motion condemning the president for castigating parliament’s decision to allocate its self Shs10 billion in a supplementary budget to fight COVID-19. Kadaga chaired the plenary session. The motion of displeasure in the Commander-in-Chief did not go down well with many party faithful.
She is quoted as having told off the president saying, “You know this ‘non-essential service’ is the one which has sat here and processed the budget of this country. We have passed laws during these hard times.”
Museveni said it was morally reprehensible for MPs to allocate themselves money amidst a crisis and that they were not government’s purchasing officers to start buying and distributing relief food and alms to people using public funds.
On the other hand, many say Oulanyah does the President’s bidding although party honchos believe it’s better to have someone whose loyalty and allegiance you are sure of.
“If we are a united force both in private and public, that way we can galvanise support for the party easily. Oulanyah’s strength is in being honest. In that case, you deal with him well aware of how the end result will be,” a party insider who is also an MP told us.
Recently, Oulanyah told the press that now is the time for him to take over arguing that both him and Kadaga reached a gentleman’s agreement to allow her one more term in 2016.
Kadaga has served two terms as speaker and there have been growing calls for her to be appointed Vice President with a women’s parliamentary group launching the campaign.