Speaker Oboth Oboth; The Stone Ugandan Builders Needed Most

By Obed K. Katureebe Rt. Hon. Jacob Marksons Oboth Oboth, the Speaker of the 12th Parliament of Uganda, is widely known for his cool, collected and highly disciplined demeanor. It is now barely a month since he assumed office in Uganda’s 12 Parliament and his positive impact is already being felt across the country, but more importantly, in the August House itself. This giant and smart former village herdsboy from Muwafu village, West Budama Central Constituency, Tororo District, and who owes his education to the community, has become the Speaker of the 12th Parliament at the right time. When his name was finally proposed by the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, after the former Speaker landed into investigations related to corruption, every Ugandan was in total agreement and approval. Rt. Hon. Oboth Oboth has hit the ground running, guiding Parliament without any glitch. This is largely because despite being a smart lawyer, he is a seasoned legislator, who previously headed the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Privileges among others. Without a doubt, the coming of Oboth Oboth as Speaker of Parliament was a very timely moment. The August House had been debased to incredible levels. Going by what is coming out through the mass media and the investigative organs of government, the honourable house had been reduced to a deals house. A few days down the road, as Oboth Oboth in charge as Speaker, an air of political and financial serenity is beginning to be felt. As is the norm, he must be studying the systems, before he makes a complete cleanup that Ugandans are eagerly waiting to see. Before the dust even settles, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oboth Oboth did the most fantastic thing. He has reallocated nearly Shs. 24 billion, from the Office of the Speaker, directly to parliamentary committees. This move aims to ensure parliamentary committees are fully funded to execute their oversight mandates, without relying on centralized or discretionary travel funds controlled by the Speaker. 2 Without sounding so mean to the previous Speaker, Rt. Hon. Anita Among, she was another version of Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France, (1755-1793) before the French Revolution and an extravagant wife to King Louis XVI. Antoinette was famously executed by guillotine in 1793 after becoming an enduring symbol of royal excess and detachment. During her five-year tenure as Speaker of the 11th Parliament, Anita Among bloated the legislative budget, primarily by inflating operational allowances, creating highly questionable line items and heavily expanding staff. The institution’s recurrent budget surged past UGX 700 billion (heading towards a trillion), up from roughly UGX 400 billion prior to her term of office. Matters were not helped by the various exposés of various media houses, who dug out the dirt that involved most legislators and the Office of the Speaker. How on earth can an office of a public official, commit monies to the range of over Shs 30 billion (for the speaker and her deputy) as budget for donations? This was so terrible that it generated outrage. Some serious MDAs, mandated to deliver serious services to Ugandans, do not get such funds for a whole financial year. But here you had the Office of the Speaker and her deputy gorging off the national till close to Shs 30 billion as donation funds. Matters reached alarming levels as the then Speaker degenerated into primitive display of wealth. Multi-billion homes were shown to poor Ugandans, who at times struggle to afford to eat three meals a day! Unheard of private luxury cars were in possession of the then Speaker, as were expensive dresses shopped from high end stores in the UK and the USA. However, things took a turn for the worst the day Daily Monitor broke the front-page story of her acquiring a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the brand’s ultra-luxury SUV valued at approximately Shs 4 billion. A primitive or ostentatious display of wealth promotes inequality, breeds resentment and diverts capital from productive investments. It also triggers costly, competitive ‘status games’ among Ugandans. No wonder becoming a Member of Parliament has become a matter of life and death! Showing off wealth increases the risk of theft and scams and fosters a toxic culture of materialism, where self-worth is solely tied to possessions. 3 This is made worse when such displays are in a poor country like Uganda, where the majority of citizens are struggling to meet the basics of life. What followed was Members of Parliament cultivating a cult status for her, because she could extend financial bailouts at a moment’s notice for those who were financially stressed. Anita Among became like the ‘ancient generous queen’ Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, known for her patronage of her people and also famed for building temples and expanding trade. In brief, Rt. Hon. Oboth Oboth has his plate full. He will have to reset the ethos in the 12th Parliament, but the good thing is he has the goodwill of all Ugandans. We wish you all the best ladit OO. The writer works with Uganda Media Centre