PARLIAMENT. The Minister of State for Local Government Jennifer Namuyangu has proposed that the Ministry of Water building be named after the late former Minister Maria Mutagamba, who passed on last week.
Minister Namuyangu made the proposal while addressing the plenary on Tuesday. The plenary had sought to pay a special tribute to the late Mutagamba.
Minister Namugwanya proposes that the ministry of Water be named after the late former Minister Mutagamba. #PlenaryUg
— Parliament Watch (@pwatchug) June 27, 2017
A section of Twitter users, interpreting the tweet as a proposal to name the water ministry after Mutagamba, were left shocked, with some ridiculing the proposal.
What a proposal!. She should be reminded, that the Ministry is not a Street or building.
— norman anguzu (@normzo) June 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/DeoNyanzi/status/879684471750000640
How then will our country relate with others internationally-"ministry of maria??"
— odongo martin (@odongo_martin) June 27, 2017
The plenary, chaired by Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, said the late Mutagamba, who was 65 when she passed on last week, was a committed nationalist who put the interest of the nation above self.
MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda said the late was an exemplary leader who did not antagonise the opposition when she crossed over to serve in the ruling government of NRM.
MP Ssemujju: I wish many would learn from the late Mutagamba on how not to burn bridges after crossing from the opposition. #PlenaryUg
— Parliament Watch (@pwatchug) June 27, 2017
However, the Parliament official Twitter handle soon realised the mistakes in both crediting the motion to Minister Benny Namugwanya (State for Kampala affairs) and that the tweet itself was misrepresenting the motion that was meant for the building. A tweet followed suit with a correction.
It was Hon. Namuyangu and not Namugwanya who said they should rename the Ministry Building not the Ministry
— Parliament of Uganda (@Parliament_Ug) June 27, 2017
“I wish many would learn from the late Mutagamba on how not to burn bridges after crossing from the opposition,” Ssemujju said of the late who served as the deputy secretary general of the Democratic Party for more than a year before her surprise appointment to Cabinet in 2000 as Minister of State for Water Resources.
Mutagamba steered the ministry for six years and her face and name almost became synonymous with water resources in the process. It was no surprise when President Museveni elated her to Cabinet as Minister of Water and the Environment in 2006, where she again served for six years until 2012.
Speaker Kadaga: I wish we could find a solution for health insurance for the ordinary Ugandan. #PlenaryUg
— Parliament Watch (@pwatchug) June 27, 2017
The Rakai-born later served as Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities from 2012 to 2016, before being replaced with Ephraim Kamuntu when she opted to retire over failing health.
Speaker Kadaga told the plenary that she wished for concerned authorities to find a solution for health insurance for ordinary Ugandans.
By press time, Parliament had adopted the motion to pay tribute to the late minister.
Parliament adopts motion to pay tribute to the late Mutagamba. #PlenaryUg
— Parliament Watch (@pwatchug) June 27, 2017
