A senior official in Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport, Principal Road Safety Officer Ronald Amanyire, has questioned the urgency surrounding the proposed Sovereignty Bill, arguing that its fast-tracking reflects political incentives rather than procedural necessity.
In a detailed statement, Amanyire dismissed public surprise over the pace at which the Bill is progressing, linking it to the nearing end of the current parliamentary term.
“People are asking why the Sovereignty Bill is being rushed. How can anyone pretend not to know. The five-year term of what many Ugandans describe as one of the most compromised Parliaments is ending very soon,” he said, adding that it was misleading to assume Parliament would slow down based on public concern.
He further criticized expectations that technical input could alter legislative direction, citing recent appearances by officials before parliamentary committees.
According to him, the belief that expert testimony can significantly influence outcomes is misplaced.
“Some people are comforting themselves by saying the Governor of the Bank of Uganda ‘settled the matter’ when he appeared before the committee. Settled it for who?” he posed.
“Who told you this Parliament listens to technical explanations, or even understands the implications of the lecture he gave.”
Amanyire argued that Parliament operates primarily on political incentives, not institutional restraint or public consultation. He noted that lawmakers control their own budget and internal procedures, with minimal consequences for ignoring public input.
“Rushing such an absurd bill is not a scandal. It is simply the system working as designed,” he stated.
He also suggested that appeals to expertise or institutional warnings rarely influence legislative outcomes, describing the process as driven by electoral timing and executive interests.
“The incentives are political, not intellectual. The timeline is electoral, not procedural. The audience is the Executive, not the citizen,” he said.
Amanyire concluded that the accelerated handling of the Bill reflects deeper institutional weaknesses, noting that many current MPs are exiting office while new entrants are still politically untested.
“Once you understand that, the speed of pushing this Bill stops being a mystery and becomes a predictable symptom of a deeper institutional decay,” he added.
The remarks add to growing public debate over legislative priorities and the pace at which key bills are being processed in the final months of the current Parliament.