It is not news that Hon. Rebeccah Kadaga's health has been bad given the challenges of the lob of Speaker. Kadaga has served for 10 years and by all standards has had a fair share of the problems associated with the job. Why not have a person with a better health given what she has gone through?
William Kituuka Kiwanuka
NRM FRONTS KADAGA FOR HOUSE SPEAKER
Sunday, 15th May, 2011
By Cyprian Musoke
THE NRM caucus endorsed Kamuli Woman MP Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga for the coveted post of Speaker of Parliament, to replace her former boss and long-serving Speaker, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi.
According to sources who attended the meeting at the State House in Entebbe, Ssekandi stepped down �in the spirit of continued consensus in the National Resistance Movement�.
�Throughout the 13 years I have served as MP, I spent three as Speaker in the sixth Parliament, five in the seventh Parliament and one in the eighth. I am weary of a competitive process and I would rather the consensus we have built in the party continues.
�It is remarkable and I am grateful that I have been given a chance to serve at the helm of the third arm of government for this long.
�However, I still have stamina and I am ready for any other deployment that the appointing authority may bestow upon me,� Ssekandi said, in his step-down remarks.
Kadaga, who has served as Deputy Speaker for 10 years, will be tussling it out with Budadiri East MP Nathan Nandala Mafabi for the post when voting time comes on the floor of the House. A source said Mafabi has been aggressively campaigning for the position, but with Ssekandi in mind as the opponent. In a short statement, Kadaga accepted to serve with diligence. The elections will take place in Parliament on May 19. The caucus included only members of NRM who returned to the House and new ones who will take oath today.
Through a secret ballot, the caucus also elected Omoro MP Jacob Oulanyah to contest for the post of Deputy speaker. Oulanyah beat his closest rival Peter Nyombi with 173 votes against 35. Oulanyah stood against Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East), Peter Nyombi (Nakasongola) and initially Jim Muhwezi (Rujumbura) who later withdrew before the voting. Oulanya will tussle it out with the youthful opposition MP Odonga Otto (Aruu county) who has already declared interest. Nyombi is one of the MPs, who were thrown out of Parliament by the Constitutional Court ruling which affected 70 others and has been in Parliament since 2006. Fox Odoi (West Budama North), the former presidential advisor on legal affairs, who is a new entrant in Parliament, initially insisted that he had what it takes for the job. Being an independent, Odoi was not allowed to attend the caucus.
It remains to be seen whether he will continue with his bid on the floor.
Who is Rebbecca Kadaga?
By Joyce Nyakato
Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga was born in Kamuli district on May 24 1956, she has been the deputy Speaker of Parliament since 2001. She has also been Kamuli district Woman MP since 1989.
Kadaga, who is known to be a hardworking politician, is respected among the opposition MPs, but they complain of her short temper.
During a session she was chairing in 2010, Kadaga suspended opposition MPS, Michael Ocula, Geoffrey Ekanya, Odonga Otto, Christine Baku and Beatrice Anywar for heckling her decision to postpone the tabling of a report on the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
In December 2010, Kadaga led the African regional Commonwealth Women Parliamentary delegation to Abuja, Nigeria to lobby for increased representation of women in the West Africa region. She is the president of Women members of parliament in Commonwealth countries in Africa.
On the international level, she spearheaded the lobbying for the Parliament of Uganda to host the next global parliamentary conference called the 126th Inter-Parliamentary Union scheduled to take place in March/April 2012.
Kadaga started out as a legal assistant with Obol Ochola and Company Advocates in Kampala in 1979. In 1984, she became the first female lawyer to set up her own law chambers in Uganda under the name Kadaga and Company Advocates.
She attended Namasagali College for her high school education.
Kadaga graduated with a law degree from Makerere University in 1978. She obtained the diploma in legal practice from the Law Development Centre in Kampala in 1979.
In 2000, she obtained a diploma in women�s law from the University of Zimbabwe. In 2003, she obtained a Master of Arts degree specialising in Women�s Law, also from the University of Zimbabwe. Between 1984 and 1988, she was in private law practice. From 1989 until 1996, she served as the Woman MP for Kamuli district. In 1996, she served as the Secretary General of the East African Women Parliamentarians Association. Kadaga has also been the vice-chairperson of the appointments and business committee of Parliament.
Career profile
2001 to date: Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP
1999 - 2001: Minister for Parliamentary Affairs
1998: State minister of Communication and aviation 1998
1998: State Minister for Regional Co-operation
1986/89: President FIDA-Uganda
Jacob Oulanyah
Above, Hon. Jacob Oulanyah receiving a gift as best borrower from the outgoing chairman, Hon. Gen. Elly Tumwine.
Jacob Oulanyah, 46, is a renowned legal mind in the land. He taught law at Makerere University Faculty of Law before he plunged into the world of politics.
He plies his private trade with his partners in Oulanyah and Onoria Company Advocates. When he joined politics, Oulanyah represented Omoro County in the 7th Parliament (2001-2006). Then, he belonged to the Uganda People�s Congress (UPC).
In Parliament, Oulanyah chaired the legal and parliamentary committee.
In 2006-2007, he participated in the peacetalks between the LRA rebels and the Government, while in 2008, he chaired the team that probed the controversial sub-lease of Kisekka Market.
In 2009, Olulanyah lost his wife, Dorothy Nangwale, a child rights advocate. He has also been a member of the Uganda Wildlife Authority board, which is under probe.
Oulanyah was the guild speaker of Makerere University, where he was a student between 1992 to 1995.
DEPUTY SPEAKER ADMITTED
Sunday, 6th February, 2011
Rebecca Kadaga Deputy Speaker
By Henry Mukasa
THE deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, is admitted at International Hospital Kampala (IHK). However, neither IHK nor Parliament officials could say what the Kamuli district Woman MP’s ailment was.
While the proprietor of IHK, Dr Iam Clark could only confirm her admittance, all parliament officials denied knowledge of her condition.
“She was admitted early last week, but she does not want it publicised. She is recovering. She is doing fine,” Clarke commented.
A source close to Kadaga said she had had a bout of malaria, worsened by the tight parliamentary campaign schedules for re-election as MP.
Kadaga is facing off with Mary Mutesi (independent), Prossy Naikoba (FDC), Miriam Namwase (PDP) and Rehema Watongola (independent) whose nomination had been cancelled, but the case is now before court.
“I have talked to her. She says she had some malaria and fatigue. She says she will be fine and will be in office early morning before setting off for her campaign rallies,” the source said.
Parliament speaker Edward Ssekandi sounded surprised when he was contacted for a comment.
“I am not aware she is admitted here in Kampala! Thanks for letting me know.”
Parliament spokesperson Hellen Kaweesa said she was not aware Kadaga was admitted. “Let me get in touch with her principal Private Secretary. Call me after ten minutes.”
Kadaga has been deputy Speaker of Parliament since 2001. She is highly respected among peers and fellow legislators because of her impartiality in her stewardship of the August House.
Before becoming Speaker, Kadaga was NRM minister for parliamentary affairs from 1999 to 2001.
KADAGA COLLAPSES IN UK HOSPITAL
RICHARD WANAMBWA, MERCY NALUGO & AGNESS
NANDUTU
KAMPALA
THE Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, is seriously ill and getting round-the-clock medical attention at a London Hospital, it has emerged. A source close to Ms Kadaga told Daily Monitor yesterday that the fiery legislator was rushed to Watford General Hospital in London, UK, at the weekend, after suffering complications the source described as "worrying."
Although Daily Monitor could not independently verify the extent to which Ms Kadaga, 52, is reportedly ill, Mr Aenes Tandekwire, the Clerk to Parliament, yesterday said the deputy speaker reportedly collapsed aboard a plane before landing at Heathrow International Airport in London, last Saturday.
"She was travelling to Germany for a conference and maybe due to bad weather, she
collapsed," Mr Tandekwire said, adding, "Our High Commission [in London] is
monitoring her condition." Parliament's spokesperson, Ms Hellen Kawesa, said Ms Kadaga had been invited to Germany for official business that included "a tour" and meetings with officials there, but added that the deputy speaker hasn't been feeling well lately. "She was a bit unwell even last week and we have been informed that she has diabetes. She arrived feeling very weak and requested to be taken to the nearest hospital," she said.
Without going into specifics, however, Ms Kawesa said the Kamuli Woman
MP was "responding to treatment." Although it is still not clear whether Ms Kadaga is being treated for diabetes, a source told Daily Monitor that; "she could not stand up on her own and the High Commission decided to rush her to the hospital, as soon as the plane touched down."
Prime Minister Apolo
Nsibambi yesterday said he was aware of Ms Kagada's illness, but added that she
was "improving."
"The speaker (Mr Edward Ssekandi) told me yesterday (on Sunday) that she was admitted at a hospital in London and that she was reasonably well," he said.
Attempts to get a comment from Information Minister Kirunda Kivejinja were fruitless.
He declined to comment and only referred Daily Monitor back to Parliament.
Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that a day before Ms Kadaga's aborted flight to Germany, the Deputy Speaker attended a heated meeting of party officials with President Museveni at his Rwakitura ranch called to discuss development issues for Busoga region.
A source that attended the meeting said Ms Kadaga used the meeting to draw to the President's attention, the growing rift between NRM politicians in Busoga.
The meeting, attended by all ministers and MPs from Busoga, was
also called to debate the NRM's continued loss of support in the region.
Ms Rebecca Kadaga is the Kamuli Woman MP and the Second Vice Chairperson of the
NRM. The 52-year-old advocate, who commands a lot of respect in Busoga
region, has been the Deputy Speaker of Parliament since 2001. Ms Kadaga has held
several high profile jobs, including stints as minister in President Museveni's
cabinet.
She was minister for Parliamentary Affairs from 1999-2000,
state minister for communication and aviation from 1998-1999 and state minister
for Regional Cooperation from 1996-1998.
Because of her neutrality, Ms Kadaga, who is known to be a hardworking politician, is respected among the opposition MPs. A former Secretary General for the East African Women Parliamentarians Association, Ms Kadaga is also a very strong and passionate gender rights activist.
Beverley Nambozo Senguiyunva
Programme Officer-Communications and Networking
The East African Sub-regional
Support Initiative for The Advancement of Women (EASSI)
Plot 87 Bukoto-Ntinda
Road P. O.
BOX 24965, Kampala
Uganda
Tel: 256-41-285163,
285194
Fax:
256-41-285306
E-mail: nambozo@eassi.org
A STATEMENT BY RT. HON. REBECCA KADAGA
DEPUTY SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA
AT THE OPENING OF THE REGIONAL MEETING OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES OF HEALTH IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (SEAPACOH)
ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2010 AT MUNYONYO COMMONWEALTH RESORT, KAMPALA, UGANDA,
Honorable Minister of Health, Dr Stephen Mallinga
The Regional Director, PPD Africa Regional Office,
Dr Jotham Musinguzi
The Chairman, SEAPACOH, Dr Blessing Chebundo
Distinguished Hon. Members of Parliament both from Uganda and outside Uganda
Representatives of Development Partners
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am very delighted to welcome you all to this “REGIONAL MEETING OF SOUTHERN AND
EASTERN AFRICA PARLIAMENTARY ALLIANCE OF COMMITTEES ON HEALTH
(SEAPACOH)”. I wish, first of all, to start by thanking the organizers of this meeting, Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the German Foundation for World Population (DSW).
Ladies and gentlemen The theme of the meeting, “Repositioning Family Planning and Reproductive Health in the Southern and Eastern Africa Region Challenges and opportunities” resonates very well with Uganda’s national priorities to invest in programmes and services that positively impact on the welfare of our people. We in Uganda believe that investing in maternal and child health including emphasizing
reproductive health and family planning is very crucial for the future of our nation.
I am particularly pleased to learn that parliamentarians from Southern and Eastern Africa Region are participating in this meeting. I am fully aware that you have a full agenda for two (2) days discussing the different modalities of repositioning Family Planning and Reproductive Health and how best to protect the lives of women and children and improve on the quality of life of our society.
Uganda has registered progress in various areas of our development, including in education, women empowerment, HIV/AIDS, poverty eradication, among others. However, improving women’s health has remained challenging. Some of the challenges why Uganda as a nation has not done so well on maternal health include a weak health system as well as inadequate human resources for health, especially for reproductive health. Our reproductive health and family planning services remain mainly urban-based yet the majority of our women are in rural areas, some of them quite remote with
poor accessibility. Yet we must do all we can to ensure that women do not die so needlessly. No woman should die while giving life.
You all know, as well as I do, that each generation builds on the ingenuity and resources of the preceding one and that family planning is one way to provide such opportunities to successive generations. You know, too, that Uganda is doing all it can to focus on the “family” in “family planning” and to bring a better life to its citizens. We still have challenges but we will get there. I am sure that your time in this remarkable learning environment will help provide lasting solutions for our
countries and citizens as well as the populations and nations all over the world.
I have spoken on numerous occasions about the need for zero-tolerance to maternal deaths. Ugandan women suffer a high maternal mortality ratio of 435 deaths per 100,000 live births. We are doing everything we can, as a nation with limited resources, to assure women do not die in childbirth, because not only is it a gross inequity to human life but it also devastates the family when a mother is lost.
The population growth (3.2 % annually ) in Uganda remains very high resulting to a too young population, with more than half, or some 15 million, being under the age of 15. Each year our population gains almost one million new citizens. We must be sure they are adequately housed, fed, schooled and nourished. The 5 million or so young people between 15 to 24 years are in need to adequate employment, so they can launch their own families, protect their health and accumulate wealth as they age.
As for Uganda and other African countries, the continued rapid growth of the population remains a major challenge to government’s efforts to reduce poverty and provide adequate social services like health, education, water and sanitation, housing, food among others.
I have learned that Uganda’s high fertility rate (6.7 children/women) includes a significant number of births that are unwanted. I find it difficult to believe that one third of recent births were considered to be mistimed when there are plenty of family planning methods that help couples to plan their families and avoid high-risk pregnancies. Nonetheless, if so many are finding it difficult to be pregnant when
this happens, it means we should do more to help them become pregnant when it is most desirable and safest for themselves, their partners and their families.
The right to decide the number and spacing of children is also recognized as a human right itself. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that universal access to contraception would save the lives of one in three women who die of causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, or roughly 160,800 women per year.
At this SEAPACOH meeting of 2010 I hope you as policy makers will pledge to take the first steps to be sure that every birth is wanted, every pregnancy is healthy and every delivery is safe and that we have provided the means to enable this to happen.
It is also my hope that you all have a pleasant stay here in Munyonyo at the shores of this great lake, Lake Victoria, which is also the source of mighty River Nile. We hope you will have time to visit some other parts of our country to appreciate the beauty of Uganda.
On behalf of the parliament of Uganda, it is now my pleasure to declare this Conference officially opened.
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