Mukono Municipality Member of Parliament Betty Nambooze Bakireke has said that it is important to consolidate seniority in parliament, for the benefit of mostly the opposition.
Nambooze made the statements on NBS TV’s Barometer while justifying the need to have Kawempe North MP Latif Ssebagala instead of newcomer Muhammad Ssegirinya.
According to Nambooze, seniority which comes from being a member of parliament over a considerable time provides better direction in the struggle through understanding parliament business better.
“If someone comes to parliament, even if you are outspoken it will take you over three months to say something. You need to understand the technicalities of parliament, how do you raise a matter of national importance, how do you move a private member’s Bill, etc. It is a very technical job,” Nambooze started.
She thanked Latif Ssebagala for introducing her to parliament.
“When I was in parliament and was still trying to learn the technicalities, Latif Ssebagala came to my rescue, together with Kyanjo (Hussein), Lukwago (Erias) and Alaso (Alice), they helped me so much, due to their seniority,” she said.
Nambooze said Ssebagala has been handling matters of the Islamic community and he is the only one they have relied on to advocate for the Muslim community.
Nambooze said that seniority is a good thing and it should be rewarded as it is in other countries like the UK.
“The more you stay in parliament, the more one becomes an asset to the people. We have people like Cecilia Ogwal, if she decides to stand and speak, no one will tell her to sit down. In Britain, MPs are graded by seniority, the one that has stayed longer in parliament is awarded a position of father or mother of the house,” she said.
Nambooze gave an example of Nancy Pelosi, who has been in the senate for 16 terms.
