Seventy per cent of the people walking on the streets in East Africa are jobles, the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Daniel Fred Kidega has said.

“Statistics in East Africa reveals that 7 out of the 10 persons you see walking in the streets are jobless, while another 6 out of 10 live in informal settlements. Yet, the largest population, the youth, constitute about 8 out of 10 persons and their age range is below 30 years”, Such is replicable in many parts of the globe”, Rt.Hon. Kidega noted.

The Speaker was addressing the 136^th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly (IPU) taking place in Dhaka, Bangladesh.    The annual event which is themed: ‘Redressing inequalities: Delivering on dignity and well-being for all’ brings together over 50 Speakers and 1400 legislators from the globe.

Hon Kidega implored global Parliamentarians to pay more attention in ensuring promotion of economic stimulus programmes that address social challenges and support local value chains in a bid to narrow the widening poverty gaps and redress inequalities.

The Speaker called on Parliaments to enact relevant legislation to make greater impact.   He informed the convention that EALA had legislated a number of pieces that protect society and address inequalities including; the EAC Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016, the EAC Gender, Equity and Equality Bill, 2016, the EAC Conflict Management Bill, 2011 and the EAC Human and Peoples Rights Act 2011.

He said the East African Community region had similarly been gravely affected by inequalities. “The State of East Africa Report 2016 depicts not all citizens have seen or felt the benefits of increasing national GDP figures at the individual/family front. If anything, life continues to be harsher and harder. The economic boom has not generated the jobs as was expected, while levels of poverty and malnutrition remain high”, the Speaker said, while remaining optimistic the trend could be reversed.

In many countries, Rt Hon Kidega said, fruits of economic development increasingly failed to reach those who deserve the same – instead benefitting companies, financial services and vested interests. He said the rate of unemployment in the globe was similarly high.

 The 136^th IPU was opened by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bangladesh, Hon Sheikh Hasina at the Parliament of Bangladesh. The Prime minister thanked delegates for electing Bangladesh as the chair of both Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). The Prime minister mentioned her government’s short, medium and long-term initiatives for the development of the country and said the government is making stride to build the country in a planned way.

“The 100 Million young people are prepared to make the world a better place. Let us not make them frustrated. They are the face of change and let us globalise human compassion”, he said.

The Emergency items include a call for urgent international action to save millions of people from famine and drought in parts of Africa and the Yemen jointly presented by the Republic of Kenya together with Belgium and the United Kingdom. Speaker of the Senate of Kenya, Rt Hon Ekwe Ethuro, presented the merged proposal to the Assembly yesterday.

“We need to request for international organisations to come to the aid of the affected nations.  Without global action, people will simply starve to death”, the Speaker remarked. The Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Rt Hon Rebecca Kadaga and the Speaker of the Burundi National Assembly, Rt Hon Pascal Nyabenda also addressed the Assembly.

In attendance also are a delegation of the Parliament of Rwanda led by the Deputy Speaker and legislators from the Transitional Assembly of the Republic of South Sudan.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national Parliaments, and EALA is an Associate Member of the IPU.

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Assistant Inspector General of Police Asan Kasingye has received death threats, reportedly issued by a one John Kagimu.

“I have received death threats from telephone number 0782744915. When I checked it out, it’s registered in the names Kagimu John. I tried to call back and he refused to pick up,” AIGP Kasingye told the media.

The threats to AIGP Kasingye come in the wake of intensified investigations in the death of his predecessor, AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi, who was gunned down on March 17 near his home in Kulambiro, on the outskirts of the city.

The investigations into AIGP Kaweesi’s killing are being conducted jointly by the Police, Internal security Organisation (ISO) and the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).

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The Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga has told world legislators that the international community has fallen short of its commitments to ensure dignity and equal rights of men and women.

Kadaga also said the gap between the rich and the poor has continued to widen, with primitive accumulation of global wealth by few individuals being a permanent feature of most economies.

“We have shortchanged the poor, the old and youth and must avail clear opportunities for them,” Kadaga told the over 650 MPs from 132 countries meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Sunday on April 2, 2017.

The 136th Inter Parliamentary Union Assembly is meeting from April 1-4 under the theme “Readdressing inequalities: delivering on dignity and well-being for all.”

“The most obnoxious drivers of inequality are corruption, impunity and failure to reign in the corrupt,” she said.

During the high level segment of the general debate, Kadaga urged world parliaments to deal with the international drivers of inequality, such as corporations that have degraded the environment and evaded taxes, those financing militias and companies engaged in natural resource exploitation and have pushed indigenous communities from their lands.

She said leaders and parliaments should plan and budget for uniform infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, roads and electricity in different parts of the country so as to reduce their concentration in a few areas.

According to Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament and President of the 136th  IPU Assembly, every political and development agenda should be attentive to the needs of those who might be left out. She said the new development agenda would need a multi-pronged approach that defines a set of principles that would ensure proper distribution of wealth.

“The Millennium Development Goals were largely unsuccessful because they lacked equitable development. Taxation systems, minimum wages and investment in basic amenities, healthcare and education are a critical factor that needed to be addressed.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and children’s rights activist, Kailash Satyarthi, in his keynote address to the Assembly said that if women were empowered and treated equally, the world would not be facing the problems it has. He urged the legislators to use their positions and power to change the world for the better.

On the issue of violations of the human rights of parliamentarians, the Secretary General of the IPU, Martin Chungong, said that MPs should not be victimized on the account of performance of their duties. He said in some parts of the world, MPs face intimidation, torture and arbitrary arrest and detention, citing Turkey where MPs have been jailed on terrorism charges.

Chungong informed legislators that the membership to the global body has risen to 173 national Parliaments following the admission of the Parliament of the Central African Republic and the Parliament of Tuvalu. The next IPU will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Uganda’s delegation to the 136th IPU includes, Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, also leader of the delegation, Hon. Latif Ssebaggala (Kawempe North), Hon. Raphael Magyezi (Igara County West), Hon. Osoru Mourine (Arua), Hon. Mukoda Zabwe Julie (Mayuge), and Hon. Francis Mwijukye (Buhweju County).

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