Joyce Namutebi
22 September 2008
Kampala — PARLIAMENTARIANS often fail to check governments because they lack access to clear, balanced and objective information on science, technology and innovation, Speaker Edward Ssekandi has said.
"MPs often rely on the press or lobby groups for information yet such sources cannot always be relied on to provide accurate and objective information, which is crucial in policy making," he said.
Ssekandi stressed that parliamentarians need to understand a given subject in order to make informed contributions to debates.
"A few parliamentarians come from a scientific or technological background. Moreover, they have many different demands and are not always well-equipped to access and interpret information on scientific subjects."
He noted that some MPs do not have time to read scientific papers and even if they did, the issues are often presented in a complex way.
"The end result is that parliamentarians often lose out in their ability to scrutinise the Government because they lack access to clear, balanced and objective information on science, technology and innovation," said Ssekandi.
Ssekandi was yesterday opening a workshop on for parliamentarians from 13 African countries at the Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala.
The event will help the participants develop skills required to effectively communicate scientific and technical information.
The participants are from Swaziland, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Ghana, Namibia, Botswana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Zambia, Somaliland and South Africa.
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