Speaker Oboth Urges Researchers to Petition Parliament Over Policy Disconnect

Speaker of Parliament Jacob Marksons Oboth has called upon local researchers and scientists to formally petition the House whenever scientific research fails to translate into actionable national policy.

Delivering a keynote address at Kyambogo University during the ‘Science Meets Parliament’ dialogue, Oboth emphasized that Uganda is not short on policies, technical expertise, or research institutions. Instead, he noted that the country struggles with a persistent gap between research findings, budgetary allocations, and actual implementation.

The event, organized by the AgriFoSe2030 Uganda Hub under the theme of sustainable agricultural transformation, brought together key academic and policy figures. Oboth suggested that the nation needs to transition from theoretical think tanks to practical action tanks, urging scientists to translate academic conclusions into straightforward policy proposals.

During the dialogue, Kyambogo University Vice Chancellor Eli Katunguka highlighted staffing challenges, noting that public universities operate at roughly 35 percent of their required capacity and struggle to retain top engineering PhDs against private sector competition. He proposed establishing a dedicated parliamentary science-policy platform and a center of excellence for science translation.

Prof. Elisabeth Rajala, Programme Director of AgriFoSe2030, pointed out that critical knowledge often remains trapped in academic publications rather than reaching farmers and policymakers. In response, Speaker Oboth pledged to utilize parliamentary oversight, budgetary authority, and legislative powers to investigate bottlenecks and ensure strict accountability.

For more details on this development, read the full report on the Parliament of Uganda.