The Prime Minister Prof. Apollo Nsibambi has blamed the LC5 Chairmen of districts for blocking members of Parliament from participating in district council meetings.

MPs have in the past been criticized for failing to attend district council meetings since the decisions in relation to implementation of programmes undertaken in their districts are made in district council meetings and it has been seen to be imperative that the legislators attend such meetings.

Prof. Apollo Nsibambi

However, Prof. Nsibambi has told journalists at Parliament that some MPs are interested in attending such council meetings but are in many cases blocked by the Chairmen of the districts. Nsibambi gave the example of the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Prof. Ogenga Latigo who was denied the chance to sit in his district council meeting because they wanted him to sit in the public gallery.

Nsibambi says that he is happy the new amendments in the Local Government Act now give MPs the power to sit in and participate in district council meetings in ex-officio capacity and not like originally where the law barred them from participating in district council meetings.

The Prime Minister says Section 10 sub- section 2 of the Local Government Act before the amendment provided that an MP may attend meetings of a Local Council in his or constituency though without clarifying in which capacity such an MP attends district council meetings thus making it easy to block an MP from attending such meetings.

However with the new amendment this section states that an MP may attend meetings in a Local Council in his or constituency in an ex officio capacity.

The Prime Minister has also noted that some District Councils give MPs notice of such meetings late so as to constrain them from attending the meetings and that some Chairmen block MPs from attending such meetings because they fear being dominated by the MPs during the district council meetings.

By Tiberindwa Zakaria, Ultimate Media