“We need more transparency. In Egypt, I moved a motion to
set up a committee to investigate allegations of corruption, and the President
promised to handle the matter, which he should have reported about now,” said
Hon. Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka (Ghana).
“In Kigali, [PAP] staff were detained and the finance
officer stayed behind for a week until our bills were paid. We need to know the
agreements signed by PAP and governments hosting our meetings for us to avoid
these embarrassing situations,” he added.
A proposal by members to have the meeting held in camera to
discuss matters of finance and allegations of corruption was however not
carried as the President suggested that the House waits for the report of the
Committee on Audit and Public Accounts.
During the same sitting, PAP suspended two representatives
from Cote d’Ivoire, who took oath at the start of the second ordinary session
of the fifth Parliament yesterday. The legislators who were designated by the
country’s Senate raised the number of their representatives to seven, two more
than what is provided for by the Protocol establishing PAP and the PAP Rules.
However, Prof. Ogenga-Latigo reasoned that Parliament erred
in law in suspending the members.
“In Uganda, I am a Member of the Rules Committee. These two
members who were sworn in outside the prescribed number are not legitimate
members of this House. You cannot therefore just suspend them because they are
not members. As it is now, unless Cote d’Ivoire withdraws the five who are
already members, what transpired is null and void in law. That is the
position,” Ogenga-Latigo said.
ENDS