Lumumba urges new leadership of 11th Parliament to promote unity 

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) secretary general, Justine Kasule Lumumba has challenged ,the newly elected speaker of Parliament and his deputy to unite the institution as strategic arm and institution of government.

In her congratulatory message to the new leadership, Lumumba said Parliament as an institution of government has an important role to play in the socio-economic transformation of the country and the timely implementation of the NRM Manifesto.

Lumumba noted that this will only be possible if the House is purposefully united and deeply focussed on securing the future of Ugandans.

"The election for the leadership of the 11th Parliament could have been acrimonious at some stages: Now is the time to put those “misguided” pressures to where they belong: in the dustbin of history. To those who campaigned for and voted for the victors; cut down your celebrations and get back to work,"said Lumumba.

"Both sides have the same responsibilities and obligations to Ugandans in terms of representation, oversight, appropriation, etc.As national leaders, we need to reconcile with each other and tolerate each other’s views, however diverse and contradictory they may be."

She explained that this is because it is only through a united and cohesive Parliament that we will be able to prioritise the strategic targets of the government and the people that you represent.

She thanked the Central Executive Committee of NRM, for its decision to recommend for the strategic deployment, Jacob Oulanyah as speaker and Anita Among for the position of deputy speaker of the 11th Parliament.

"To those who participated in the above elections and did not make it,  there is a time for everything, and your time will surely come in the future. You did not make it not because you were incapable of providing leadership to the 11th Parliament; but because there could only be one winner for each position,"she advised.