EDITORIAL: Eala: Citizens should demand nothing but business now

MEMBERS OF the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) on Wednesday kicked out Speaker Margaret Zziwa with a resounding majority decision that more than underscored why the Assembly has been in limbo for almost a year. The impeachment, with 36-2-1 in favour, against and abstinence, respectively, now paves way for the Assembly to resume business as soon as they have elected a new Speaker. The comedy is over, and the dreams of the citizenry that the regional organ holds in its hands should be back to normal. However, while Zziwa is effectively a back-bencher in the regional parliament, the problems that caused the rift and nauseating bickering could be far from over. The Assembly must use the tenure of Zziwa as a reminder of what went wrong and how it could have been avoided altogether, or even nipped in the bud to ensure that in the future, similar scenarios do not show up to blight the activities of the regional organ. A lot of taxpayers’ money was lost during the limbo as the legislators picked their allowances for travelling for a sitting where they only traded accusations in as far as the mandate they took from the citizens is concerned. After they decided that Zziwa was the bigger problem and weeded her out, East Africans now want to see the many items on the order paper cleared for the good of the region. In the same vein, the incoming Speaker must not be one that the Assembly will use to push through their wishes, including petty personal issues such as their arguments in bars. Business must be back to the Floor of the House regardless of who the incoming Speaker will be.

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EDITORIAL: Eala: Citizens should demand nothing but business now