Kampala — CATHOLIC bishops have urged government to guarantee that transition from the Movement system of government to multi-partism will be credible, inclusive and will help the country attain genuine democracy.

The 29 bishops said the opening of political space, dialogue with the opposition and the concluded constitutional review commission are a positive step, but necessary amendments of the process for the transition should not be delayed nor hurried due to the absence of the necessary laws and other mechanisms to make it a transparent one.

At a press conference at the Uganda Catholic Secretariat this afternoon, the Chairman of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Paul Bakyenga, read a strongly worded letter in which the Bishops also warned government against last minute proposals by Cabinet to the Constitutional Review Commission which they said are intended to undermine the powers of Parliament and autonomous constitutional bodies, while increasing the powers of the President.

"We have noted that some sections of Ugandans who had developed high expectations on the development of democracy and progress in this country have started lowering their expectations.

During the campaigns and elections of 2001, there were reports of increased violence and since that time, intolerance seems to have set in and increasing, thus causing more and more tension," Bakyenga read in the letter entitled "A concern for peace, unity and harmony in Uganda".

"As a nation, we live and exist in the public eye of the international community. We deserve a good name everywhere in the world," he said.

The Bishops also renewed their call for government to seek dialogue with the Lord's Resistance army rebels, strengthen the fight against corruption and safeguard human rights.