Kampala on alert as delegates arrive for Inter Parliamentary conference

Security has been beefed up in the Ugandan capital Kampala as delegates from over 150 parliaments around the world arrive in the East African country for the 126th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Conference Both the police and the military are carrying out foot and motorized patrols around the city. Over 1,400 delegates are expected to attend the six day meeting that will starting March 31 deliberate on matters of access to health, good governance and distribution of power. The theme for the main conference is Parliament and the people- bridging the gap. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni in a message posted on the conference website said Uganda hosting the meeting is a clear manifestation of the country’s contribution towards parliamentary democracy. “Very few countries have experienced the depth of debt prevention, the darkness of mixed political history and the challenge of recovery that Uganda has faced over the last fifty years,” he said. Abdelwahed Radi, the IPU assembly president arrived in the country on Tuesday. The IPU which was established in 1889 is the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co- operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy.