By Ritah Kemigisa
The speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanya has warned members of parliament against politicizing the covid-19 pandemic.
He made the remarks during the 3rdsitting of the 11th parliament which is ongoing at the Kololo ceremonial grounds.
“These are difficult times, whatever keeps us safe, we must hold onto it. We should not politicize a pandemic of this nature. The challenge is, because of the numbers, the results take longer than before,” said speaker Oulanyah
His comments come after a section of opposition Mps raised concern over colleagues being held outside Parliament over COVID-19 tests.
MPS including Joseph Sewungu and Cecilia Ogwal argue that it is unfair to deny members their right to attend plenary just because they have not yet received their results.
“When I look at where you are sitting and where the members are sitting, we are so far apart actually it’s almost 1000 times to where the president is going to sit. The president is the only one who requires that we must have covid19 tests,” said Ms Ogwal.
The reappointed health minister Ruth Aceng has however objected to Ogwal’s submission.
“The risk is not limited to the president, we don’t test because we are coming in the presence of the excellency, we test to protect one another, we are all at risk of getting covid19,” said designate health minister Aceng.
Speaker Oulanya has now meanwhile directed that a special tent is put up to accommodate members as they wait for their results.
