Uganda: MPs should be assessed by their roles (ANSA-Africa, 12 Aug 2010))

Kampala:  The African Leadership Institute's Members of Parliament Scorecard is a good attempt, and at the moment, the only available means of evaluating elected representatives in Parliament.

AFLI released its latest scorecard two weeks ago, showing members' performance in the plenary, committees and constituencies.

The scorecard also analysed how often members attend district council meetings, their accessibility by voters through telephone, and whether they had constituency offices or staff covering the period 2008 - 2009.

Evaluating elected representatives is necessary and will improve performance and accountability. It helps remind members that their voters are watching and closely following what they are doing.

However, the performance of MPs, and any other individual, should ideally be based on what their roles and functions are actually supposed to be, rather than mere perceptions. Any analysis not based on these roles and functions will in the end be narrow and may fail to serve its intended purpose.