By Joseph Mary Buwule
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has called for stronger collaboration between Uganda’s Parliament and other Commonwealth legislatures, saying Uganda can benefit from the experience, expertise and best practices of member states.
Tayebwa made the remarks on Wednesday during a meeting with Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who was in Uganda for her first official visit since assuming her position. She was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Adonia Ayebare.
The meeting focused on strengthening parliamentary effectiveness, accountability, democratic governance and the role of the Commonwealth in supporting Uganda’s institutions.
Botchwey said her visit was intended, among other things, to understand how Parliament is carrying out its accountability mandate and to explore areas where the Commonwealth Secretariat could provide support.
Tayebwa said Parliament requires continued capacity building for both Members of Parliament and staff to enable them to effectively handle increasingly complex national issues.
“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 also proposed that the Commonwealth Secretariat facilitate exchange programmes and study visits for Ugandan legislators and parliamentary staff.
According to Tayebwa, such exchanges would give Members of Parliament an opportunity to learn from the experiences of other Commonwealth legislatures and adapt relevant practices to Uganda’s parliamentary system.
He said strengthening institutional capacity and embracing technology would help Parliament improve the way it conducts its business and serves the public.
Commonwealth pledges support
Botchwey welcomed the issues raised by the Deputy Speaker and pledged to work with Parliament in areas where the Commonwealth can provide technical support and expertise.
She said Parliament has an important role to play in strengthening Uganda’s democratisation process, accountability and the promotion of liberties, which she described as important pillars of the Commonwealth’s mission.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General also highlighted the need to make the organisation more relevant to young people, noting that young people constitute a significant proportion of the populations across Commonwealth member states.
The discussions explored several possible areas of engagement, including education, entrepreneurship, youth skilling, dialogue among young people and climate adaptation.
The emphasis on young people reflects a broader effort to ensure that Commonwealth programmes respond to issues affecting citizens in their daily lives, particularly opportunities for education, employment, skills development and participation in public affairs.
Tayebwa highlights Parliament’s oversight role
The Deputy Speaker also used the meeting to highlight what he described as Parliament’s role in holding the Executive accountable through its oversight functions.
He said both ruling-party and opposition Members of Parliament participate in the oversight process, including through parliamentary committees responsible for scrutinising government programmes and expenditure.
Tayebwa pointed to the involvement of opposition legislators in chairing accountability committees and their opportunity to raise matters of public concern on the floor of Parliament.
Opposition Chief Whip Paul Mwiru, who also attended the meeting, said the 12th Parliament, under the leadership of Speaker Anita Among and Deputy Speaker Tayebwa, was fostering what he described as a culture of mutual respect between legislators.
Mwiru said opposition legislators were being given opportunities and resources to perform their parliamentary responsibilities.
“The atmosphere is that we can raise anything. We are on the right trajectory…the room exists for us to raise the issues,” he said.
He also commended the leadership of Parliament for supporting the work of oversight committees.
“I want to thank the office of the Speaker because the oversight committees are now working very well; they are being facilitated,” Mwiru added.
The meeting underscored the potential for increased cooperation between Uganda’s Parliament and Commonwealth institutions, particularly in parliamentary capacity building, digital transformation, legislative exchanges, youth engagement and democratic governance.