Ibrahim Ssemujju-Nganda, the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Kira Municipality has questioned the competence of some fellow MPs. He says parliament needs reforms.
According to Article 80 (1)(c) of the Constitution, a person is qualified to be a Member of Parliament if that person has completed a minimum formal education of advanced level standard or its equivalent and Article 259 of the same Constitution provides for its amendment.
However, Ssemujju says meeting the required academic qualifications is not enough for someone to be an MP. He explains that to be an effective representative, one must be able to communicate at three levels namely; the constituency, the national and international levels.
“There are MPs who should be councillors. I must be honest even if they are my voters. Parliament needs reform,” says Ssemujju Nganda.
He urges that parliament should create a short course to develop the communication skills of MPs.
Earlier this week, Semujju officially declared his intention to contest for the Speaker of Parliament position. He’s to battle it out with incumbent Rebecca Kadaga and her deputy, Jacob Oulanyah.
Ssemujju says that even the MPs who want to liberate the country (opposition MPs) can’t liberate themselves as they’re discouraging him not to stand.
“There are some MPs in Parliament asking me, “Ssemujju why are you disturbing? I don’t want to be a permanent praise singer. Kadaga has done well but Parliament is not for a single person,” he says.