eastnews.co.ug
Parliament has today 7th of July 2020 passed a resolution to allow the elderly have five (5) parliamentary seats.
This was revealed by the Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Judith Nabakoba in her tweet handle.
This resolution will be presented to parliament for debate and enactment.
The current 10th Parliament comprises of: 290 Constituency Representatives, 120 District Woman Representatives, 10 Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces Representatives, 5 Representatives of the Youth, 5 Representatives of Persons with Disabilities, 5 Representatives of Workers and 17 Ex Officio Members.
If cabinet’s resolution is passed by parliament, the number of MPs in the 11th Parliament will go to 440 adding more burden on the Ugandan tax payer.
Older persons first launched the campaign in 2008. In their 10-paged petition to Parliament, the older persons (above 60 years) not only advocated for parliamentary seats, but also representation at all levels of decision making including local councils.
Last year, 17 members of the National Council for Older Persons (NCOP) signed a fresh petition to sustain their demand and addressed it to the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
They claimed then that their target was not to miss out in the next parliament in 2021.
