The newly elected Speaker of Parliament Oboth Oboth has pledged to clean parliament of all forms of Corruption.
“My vision for the next five years, as the speaker is to improve accountability, beginning with Parliament itself.We shall hold the executive and other government bodies accountable, but we are going to begin with ourselves because parliament must lead by good example,” he said shortly after being sworn in at Kololo Independence ground.
Uganda loses over UGX 10 trillion to corruption every year, which breaks down to approximately UGX 833 billion per month.according to detailed empirical studies by the Inspectorate of Government.
He promised that every Bill, motion, and decision must directly respond to the needs of the ordinary citizen.
“Results must guide our work. Budgeting and appropriation will no longer be an exercise in financial engineering and distortion, but a results-driven endeavour to deliver services to our people.”Oboth stated.
He noted that the speaker’s chair is not an enthronement. “My role now is to ensure that, working together, the voices of over 45 million Ugandans are heard, protected, and respected.”
He praised the NRM party, through the NRM Parliamentary Caucus, Parliament, and the PLU pressure group, while also acknowledging that “the media is not our enemy, but the public’s eye. A transparent and open Parliament strengthens trust between the House and the people.”
In the next five years, the speaker said there will be a need to strengthen parliament’s oversight function. “Oversight should not be a post-mortem. We must not wait for public funds to be lost; our committees should be empowered to act in real time to protect public resources.”
“We are going to serve Parliament and the people of Uganda with humility, modesty, and honour.”
Oboth Oboth Back ground,Career and Rise
Jacob Marksons Oboth, also known as Jacob Oboth-Oboth, was born on April 13, 1971 from a rural village in Muwafu, Tororo district.
He attended Muwafu Primary School before joining St. Denis Ssebugwawo Secondary School for his O-Level education.
He later joined Tororo High School for his A-Level studies before earning admission to Makerere University in 1997 to pursue a Bachelor of Laws degree.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2001 before obtaining a postgraduate diploma in legal practice from the Law Development Centre in 2002.He later undertook specialized studies in intellectual property and public procurement under the International Development Law Organization.
In 2007, he earned a Master of Laws degree in Election and Cyber Law from the University of Minnesota before joining elective politics,
Oboth-Oboth worked as a State Attorney under the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and also served as Deputy Attorney General for the Tieng Adhola Cultural Institution. He also worked at the Mbale regional office before traveling to the United States for further studies.
Upon returning to Uganda in 2007, Oboth-Oboth resumed government service before resigning in 2010 to join active politics in 2011 where he contested as an Independent candidate and defeated then State Minister for Labour Dr. Emmanuel Otaala to become Member of Parliament for West Budama South. He successfully retained the seat in 2016, making history as the first legislator in the constituency to win re-election consecutively since 1996.
In the 9th Parliament, Oboth-Oboth chaired the Committee on Rules, Discipline and Privileges and the parliamentary ad hoc committee to investigate the electricity sub sector, the Committee on Natural Resources. He now chairs the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and is a member of the Committee on Rules, Discipline and Privileges and the Business Committee in the 10th Parliament.
He is a Ugandan lawyer, intellectual property (IP) expert, and politician, who is a member of the ruling party NRM and serves as the elected Member of Parliament for West Budama County South. Additionally, he holds the position of State Minister for Defence (General Duties). Oboth-Oboth currently chairs the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and has previously served as chairperson of the parliamentary Committee on Rules, Discipline and Privileges and the Committee on Natural Resources. He is also an active member of the parliamentary Business Committee.
“I struggled to attain a better education, and today I stand before you as Speaker of the 12th Parliament. It can only be by divine grace. To God be the glory.”Oboth Oboth stated
