leadership doesnt mean solving every one problem

"In politics there is no internal enemy but internal interests"

However a member of parliament is not facilitated to fund directly development activities and program in his constituency. Further still, due the challenges low developing countries like Uganda leader fund themselves compelled to go beyond the designed roles for example in Uganda the government has invested in both universal primary and secondary education but still many young people fail to go universities, tertiary institutions, and vocation schools after primary and secondary school due to lack of sponsorship, escalating challenge of un employment, epidemic diseases, HIV/AIDS.

a leader must always look up for solutions to the challenges facing his/her people. my office has therefore set up some programs and activities aimed at solving some of the fore said challenges as stated below:-
1. “Supporting education for the bright poor” ,
2. “Supporting job creation initiatives”, and
3. “Fighting diseases and ignorance amongst the young people who are the engines of national development”

Research shows that many young people are ignorant and dislike the attitude of saving some money out of their earning therefore the office has come up with “stand up capacity building programs” for the youth in my constituency. This program is merged with civil education for the young people to get acquitted to different government, NGOs, and Institutions among others that can help them access different opportunities that can enhance on their standards of living

zaakw200

Name: Kibedi Zaake Wanume
Designation: Youth Member of Parliament for Eastern Region of the Republic of Uganda, East Africa
P.O.Box 7178 Kampala
Tel: +256 (441) 377 834
Mob: + 256 0392 945 088
+ 256 0782 921 004
+256 0712 873 503

Office location: plot Bauman house parliamentary avenue, Room No: E2-12 Kampala
Email: Zaak200@yahoo.com
Website: www.zaak200.blogspot.com

Name: Mpagi Muhamed
Designation: Political Assistant Youth Member Parliament Eastern Region of the Republic of Uganda
Tel: +256 (441) 377 834
Mob: +256 782 011974
+256 753 715671

Office location: plot Bauman house parliamentary avenue, Room No: E2-12 Kampala
Email: mugalulam@yahoo.om
Web: www.mpagimugalulam.blogspot.com


The Roles of Youth MP in their Constituency.


Political theory

Political theorists have argued that it’s a basic right of citizens to make, contribute to, and influence decisions that affect them. In his book The Social Contract, Or Principles of political Right (1762) Jean-Jacques Rousseau theorized that a perfect society should be controlled by the "general will" of its populace. He suggested that assemblies be held in which every citizen can assist in determining the general will. Without this input from the people, there could be no legitimate government. Importantly, this input cannot come from representatives, but must be from the people themselves.

Rousseau postulates that every law the people have not ratified in person is null and void —is, in fact, not a law3 and that the legislative power belongs to the people, and can belong to it alone.4 Article 1 of the Constitution of Uganda is in concord with this because it states that power belongs to the people. John Locke believed that a government can only be legitimate if it has been sanctioned by the people

The Role of legislator

The central principles of parliamentary government, shared by systems based on the Westminster model, are reflected in formulations of the role of Parliament and its members developed by John Stuart Mill and Walter Bagehot in the nineteenth century. MPs were expected to perform three fundamental tasks:
• To consider, refine and pass legislation;
• To hold government accountable for its administration of the laws and authorize the expenditure of the required funds; and
• To determine the life of the Government through exercising the ability to provide or withhold support.

Modern roles of MPs’ emphasize two basic types of activity, reflecting long-standing traditional roles of legislative activity and surveillance/ oversight activity and contemporary roles including Constituency Activity and role and political responsibilities. As such they are detail to include the following.

Legislative activity (Arts 79, 91 93, 94) where parliament is mandated to make laws on any matter for peace, order, development and good governance of Uganda The fundamental role of MPs in Uganda is to consider, refine and pass legislation. Although it is public servants and cabinet ministers who have direct responsibility for drafting new legislation, MPs do influence legislation through debates in Parliament during committee meetings to examine legislation. MPs can also introduce legislation of their own, through private members bills.

Surveillance activity. Oversight powers to guard public funds (Article 164) which gives it the accountability authority. His function gives Parliament the “power of the purse” where they regulate the expenditure of government resources among other oversight roles. Permanent secretaries are accountable to Parliament for funds in their ministries and empower MPs to monitor all expenditure of public funds (Art 64) more recent roles include

Party role Party Responsibilities where political parties are equally important to Parliament in a multiparty dispensation. They are a crucial unit within the political system, yet the electoral system and the formal workings of Parliament are all predicated upon the fiction that individual MPs enjoy sufficient autonomy to represent the interests and opinions of their constituents in a meaningful way. Article 78 of the Constitution states that Parliament shall consist of members directly elected to represent constituencies and also prescribes how other categories are elected to parliament. Debates on whether the constituents are supposed to have precedence over party caucuses because MPs are supposed to represent constituencies directly and not their political parties are pertinent in the current wave of representative democracy in Uganda. Though ideally It would be more representative if MPs could should talk on behalf of their constituents even within political parties and constituency service activity

Constituency Service Activity and role the core of this presentation is where MPs are expected to maintain a high profile in their constituencies and take part in local events and official functions. They must be in constant touch with the constituents devoting time to provide assistance to individual constituents,

Examples include contacting Ministers or public service officials, or using time in the House, to make known grievances of an individual constituent and seek remedies. They get the public views through attending local council meetings as one of the channels. Section 6 of the Local Governments (Amendment) Act, 2001, states that ‘A Member of Parliament may attend meetings of a Local Council in his or her constituency.’ MPs are obligated to attend plenary sessions. These meetings provide members with an opportunity to present the views of their constituents, raise new issues and debate. It channels the views and concerns of the public in general and those of their respective constituents to the executive for attention and redress through motions, petitions, oral and supplementary questions.

Constitutionally MPs represent the regional and local concerns of the constituents in Parliament. In practice, however, they are supposed to solve problems for constituents on a wide variety of government matters from checking on individual problems with government departments to providing information on government programs and policies.

MPs are, therefore, charged with promoting and protecting people’s rights. This service is performed by both government and opposition Members. Through this service, MPs’ potential effectiveness in acting on behalf of constituents who have grievances over policies or their application is increased.

Most MPs and their constituents appear to believe that the primary role of an MP is to cause development in their constituency. These are beliefs and attitudes, whether rightly or wrongly acquired, which have evolved over many years of misrule, unbalanced development and minimal presence of the state and its service delivery agents in much of rural Uganda. They are fallacious because under objective number XIV of the National objectives and Directive Principles of State policy it is stated that social development is to be undertaken by the State in fulfillment of the fundamental rights of all Ugandans to social justice and economic development. It is therefore the direct role of the executive in Government to plan for development and Endeavour to ensure that all development efforts are directed at ensuring the maximum social and cultural well-being of the people so that they rights and opportunities and access to education, health services, clean and safe.

MPs contribute to development through the policies they legislate in the House. Unfortunately, Government programmes have in many cases not percolated to the grassroots, a gap which is normally filled by Civil Society and International organizations. That is why in 2005, the Government of Uganda introduced the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to tackle poverty at the grassroots through financing development at constituency level through the elected MPs.

Conclusion
There is necessitation for prolonged civic education and empowerments in Uganda to clearly spell out to Ugandans the roles of their MPs. Uninformed assumptions about the key roles of MPs continue to define the objectives and the expectations of both MPs and the public. The core roles of MPs are the legislative and surveillance functions with constituency service and party responsibility following as generic roles.

However a member of parliament is not facilitated to fund directly development activities and program in his constituency. Further still, due the challenges low developing countries like Uganda leader fund themselves compelled to go beyond the designed roles for example in Uganda the government has invested in both universal primary and secondary education but still many young people failing to go universities, tertiary institutions, and vocation schools after due to lack of sponsorship, secularist challenge of un employment, epidemic diseases, HIV/AIDS.

These calls for a solution therefore stand up with the office of youth Member of Parliament and solve the problem. The office has come up with the programs such as
1. “Supporting education for the bright poor” ,
2. “Supporting job creation initiatives”, and
3. “Fighting diseases and ignorance amongst the young people who are the engines of national development”

Research shows that many young people are ignorant and dislike the attitude of saving some money out of their earning therefore the office has come up with “stand up capacity building programs” for the youth in my constituency. This program is merged with civil education for the young people to get acquitted to different government, NGOs, and Institutions among others that can help them access different opportunities that can enhance on their standards of living