Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has said Parliament will tap into the capacity and experience of Commonwealth member states through the Commonwealth Secretariat to strengthen its effectiveness.
He made the remarks on Wednesday during a meeting with Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who was making her first visit to Uganda as Secretary-General. Botchwey was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Adonia Ayebare.
Botchwey said she had come to learn how Parliament is fulfilling its accountability mandate and explore ways in which the Commonwealth can support Uganda.
Tayebwa said Parliament needs support in building the capacity of Members of Parliament and staff, as well as in digitising parliamentary processes.
“We need capacity building of our Members of Parliament so that we can effectively debate critical issues. Also, digitisation is very important for an effective Parliament, and we would like to get support,” Tayebwa said.
He said it would be useful for the Commonwealth Secretariat to organise visits and exchanges for Uganda’s Members of Parliament and staff to visit other parliaments and learn from their experiences.
Botchwey promised to work with Parliament on issues that the deputy speaker raised. She said Parliament can be a stronger pillar of Uganda’s democratisation, accountability and promotion of liberties, which are cornerstones of the Commonwealth’s mission.
She also said one of her priorities is to make the Commonwealth more relevant to young people, who make up a large proportion of citizens in Commonwealth member states.
Some of the ideas discussed on making the Commonwealth more relevant to ordinary citizens included promoting free education, entrepreneurship, skilling young people, promoting dialogue among young people and supporting climate adaptation, among others.
On the performance of Parliament, Tayebwa said the House is effectively carrying out its oversight role by holding the executive accountable.
He explained that this is being done by both ruling-party and opposition legislators. He cited opposition legislators chairing accountability committees and being given space on the floor of Parliament to raise issues they want addressed.
Opposition Chief Whip Paul Mwiru, who was also part of the meeting, said the 12th Parliament, under the leadership of Speaker Anita Among and Tayebwa, is cultivating a culture of mutual respect that did not exist before and giving opposition legislators the space and resources they need to perform their duties.
