parliament watch bulletin mid term audit 2014

42
IS THE 9TH PARLIAMENT DELIVERING TO CITIZENS’ EXPECTATIONS? “….every law that the people have not ratified in person is null and void — is, in fact, not a law… the legislative power belongs to the people, and can belong to it alone…” Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762) A MID TERM CITIZENS’ ASSESSMENT OF THE 9TH PARLIAMENT UGMP, SEPTEMBER 2014

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The overall objective of the Assessment was to track progress that the 9th Parliament is making on its mandate, half way its tenure, within the Citizens Manifesto context

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Page 1: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

1

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

IS THE 9TH PARLIAMENT DELIVERING TO CITIZENS’

EXPECTATIONS?

“….every law that the people have not ratified in person is null and void — is, in fact, not a law… the legislative power belongs to the people, and can belong to it alone…”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762)

A MID TERM CITIZENS’ ASSESSMENT OF THE 9TH PARLIAMENT

UGMP, SEPTEMBER 2014

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2UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

List of Abbreviations 3

Foreword 5

Acknowledgements 6

1. Introduction 7

1.1 Objectives of the Assessment 8

1.2 Conceptual Framework of the Assessment 8

1.3 Process and Methodology 9

1.4 The Mandate of Parliament 10

2. Key Findings 11

Standard One 12 Standard Two 14 Standard Three 20 Standard Four 22 Standard Five 23 Standard Six 25 Standard Seven 27 Standard Eight 30 Standard Nine 32 Standard Ten 33 Standard Eleven 34

3. Conclusions and Recommendations 37

3.1 Parliaments Legislative Role 37

3.2 Representation and Participation 38

3.3 Oversight 40

Tabl

e of

Con

tent

s

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A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

List of Abbreviations

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

ATI Access to Information

BFP Budget Framework Papers

BoU Bank of Uganda

CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program

CAIIP Community Agricultural Infrastructure Improvement Program

CBO Community Based Organization

CBR Community Based Rehabilitation

CHOGM Commonwealth Heads of Government's Meeting

COSASE Committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises

CP Conservative Party

CSBAG Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group

CSO Civil Society Organization

DP Democratic Party

DPP Directorate of Public Prosecutions

EC Electoral Commission

ESO External Security Organisation

FDC Forum for Democratic Change

FGM Female Genital Mutilation

FY Financial Year

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GMOs Genetically Modified Organisms

HIV Human Immune Virus

ICESCR International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

IDP Internally Displaced Persons

IG Inspector of Government

IGG Inspector General of Government

ISO Internal Security Organisation

JEEMA Justice Forum of Uganda

JLOS Justice and Law and Order Sector

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4UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

JEEMA Justice Forum of Uganda

JLOS Justice and Law and Order Sector

LC Local Council

MDAs Ministries Departments and Agencies

MoU Memorandum of Understanding

MP Member of Parliament

MTEF Medium Term Expenditure Framework

NAR Net Attendance Ratio

NDP National Development Plan

NEMA National Environment Management Authority

NFA National forestry Authority

NGO Non-Government Organization

NRM National Resistance Movement

NODPSP National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy

PAC Public Accounts Committee

PFAA Public Finance & Accountability Act

PRDP Peace Recovery and Development Plan

PSIP Parliament of Uganda 5-year Strategic Investment Plan

RDC Resident District Commissioner

TSA Treasury Single Account

UGMP Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform

Ugshs Uganda Shillings

UPC Uganda People’s Congress

UPDF Uganda People’s Defense Forces

UPFC Uganda Parliamentary Forum for Children

UPOLET Universal Post O Level Education and Training

UWOPA Uganda women Parliamentary Association

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A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

The institution of Parliament has popularly been referred to as the temple of democracy. Parliaments the world over are progressively being recognized as important agents of political society for delivery of effective democracies, and transforming economies. Despite their important role, Parliaments operate under very difficult circumstances, especially in nascent democracies. In 2009, as part of the process to generate the Citizens Manifesto for 2011-2016, it clearly emerged that the institution of Parliament and its Members suffered a challenge of mixed expectations from their citizenry. The variance between their roles and responsibilities and citizens expectations of them was evident indicating that their assessment was not based on clear indicators.

Informed by this reality and in preparation for the 2011 Presidential and Parliamentary elections a Citizens Manifesto was developed as a political statement of ordinary Ugandans and expressing their demands to the next government, and leaders. A Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament was derived from the Manifesto with 11 standards which Citizens felt should be addressed by Parliament, and upon which performance of Parliament would be assessed.

In the post 2011 elections epoch, the Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform (UGMP) has continued to use this charter as a benchmark for assessing the performance of Parliament. This midterm audit of Parliament presents findings from a 3 year assessment of the 9th Parliament, based on the Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament. It’s noteworthy that a myriad of other independent assessments are being conducted on Parliament.

Cognizant that parliamentary performance is also shaped by the context such as political systems, constitutional provisions, nature of political parties, domination of the executive and the wider social and cultural environment, which may not facilitate strong parliaments, any efforts towards parliamentary strengthening must take into account these various reasons.

Independent efforts to assess the impact of the legislature remain limited, which makes this report a major milestone towards increased scrutiny of the institution of parliament by the citizens.

This Midterm Audit of the 9th Parliament therefore does not claim to tell the full story, nor does it paint a rosy and only positive picture of the progress, but it does celebrate the achievements of the 9th Parliament, and also articulates the challenges based on the citizens manifesto demands as well as the performance indicators set by the 9th Parliament.

We hope that you will find this Bulletin not only an interesting read but also useful to your efforts to deepen the Legislative, oversight, and representational role of members of Parliament and effectiveness of the Institution of Parliament.

Richard Ssewakiryanga

Executive Director, Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF)

Foreword

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A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

This mid-term Assessment of the 9th Parliament has benefited from the hard work and commitment of several agencies and individuals who are worthy of mention. First and foremost, it is important to recall that the Citizens’ Manifesto (CM) started as an ambitious idea within the Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform (UGMP) - a civil society Governance Monitoring Group comprising 18 Ugandan organizations united in the quest for good and democratic governance.

Special thanks go to the Citizens’ Manifesto regional hub lead agencies and Citizens’ Manifesto Partners who coordinated the process of community consultations in the seven regions and 35 districts where this Assessment was conducted. These include Community Development and Child Welfare Initiatives (CODI); Luwero District NGO Forum, Gulu NGO Forum (GDNF); Mid- Western Region Anti-Corruption Coalition (MIRAC) and Masindi District NGO Forum; Pallisa Civil Society Network (PACONET); Tororo Civil Society Network (TOCINET); Kapchorwa Civil Society Organizations’ Alliance (KACSOA); Iganga District NGO Forum; First African Bicycles Initiative (FABIO); Kabarole Research and Resource Centre (KRC), Kamwenge Development Organization (KADIVDO), Rwenzori Anti-Corruption Coalition (RAC); MAYANK Anti-Corruption Coalition (MACCO); Lira District NGO Forum, Kanungu District NGO Forum, KICK Corruption Out of Kigezi, Mid Western Centre for Democracy (MICOD), and the Facilitation for Peace and Development (FAPAD); Western Ankole Civil Society Forum, and Public Affairs Centre of Uganda.

We also extend our sincere thanks to Ms Elone Natumanya for her selfless efforts in supporting the Citizens’ Manifesto partners during and after data collection. We are sincerely indebted to all good men and women of Uganda who accommodated the data collection teams and took time off their busy schedules to share their views about the performance of the 9th Parliament for the last three and a half years. We appreciate Mr Churchill Ongole, and Ms. Cecilia Anyakoit who led this research process. We also in a special way thank the team at the Africa Leadership Institute, led by Hon. David Pulkol for accepting to provide Technical input to the exercise and review of this report.

The drafting of this report also benefitted from the technical expertise, Ms. Eunice Musiime and Mr. Job Kiija, all of the Uganda National NGO Forum.

Finally, and in great measure, we appreciate the support provided by the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) who have walked the Citizens’ Manifesto journey with us since inception, and whose financial support has greatly contributed towards this audit process and outcome.

Prof. J.B. KwesigaAMBASSADOR- UGANDA GOVERNANCE MONITORING PLATFORM (UGMP)

Acknowledgement

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A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

1.0 Background

In 2009 the Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform (UGMP) conceived the idea of the Citizens’ Manifesto as a political statement by ordinary Ugandans before Government and elected leaders. A Citizens Manifesto was thus developed with a National Vision of a Peaceful and Prosperous Country with Happy People. The Manifesto presents critical issues that demand the urgent attention of all leaders at every level. These were further summarized for each elective position into what is referred to as a Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament, in the case of Parliament, and serves as a basis for systematic monitoring of Parliament.

The Citizens manifesto Charter for Parliament sets out standards that citizens expect their elected representatives and the Institution of Parliament to uphold in fulfillment of their constitutional mandate during their five year term of office (2011-2016). It is assumed that the Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliamentarians for the period 2011-2016 will be implemented progressively. Citizens expect to witness progress and thus the need for MPs to ensure that their Annual Schedule of work takes into account each of the set standards in order to have clearly defined deliverables.

Since 2011, and as part of tracking the implementation of leaders commitments to Citizens, the Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform (UGMP), set out to conduct periodic audits of different institutions of governance. In particular, UGMP started on the process to generate the first Parliament Watch Bulletin, which was released in 2012.

In October 2012, citizen organizations through the Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF) and the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of Civil Society, with the Speaker of Parliament on behalf of Parliament. As part of the MOU were Citizens expectations of Parliament, enshrined in the Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament. The MOU not only sealed the relationship between Civil Society and Parliament, but also confirmed the Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament as a strong basis upon which Citizens could assess the performance of Parliament. Upon this background, UGMP yet again commissioned the process of conducting a midterm Assessment of the 9th Parliament in October 2013. This report thus presents results of an assessment of the first three years of the 9th Parliament. The assessment was based on Citizens expectations of Parliament as enshrined in the 2011-2016 Citizens Manifestos. This report highlights the key findings on each of the 11 standards, and makes recommendations for further action to be taken in order to enhance the performance of the 9th Parliament and the MPs in their subsequent sessions.

Structure of the Report

This report has three main parts. It starts with this introduction, which gives the background and objectives of the Assessment, the process and methodology of the assessment as well as an understanding of the mandate of Parliament. Following in section two is a matrix that presents the main findings from the assessment. This is presented along the 11 standards enshrined in the Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament. Findings are presented in matrix form, highlighting the standard, Citizen Expectations, the key findings, the gaps identified, the citizens rating of Parliament, and finally the recommendations made for Parliament to improve. The final part of this report (Section three) presents an overall conclusion and recommendations in this assessment.

IntroductionPart 1

The members of the UGMP are 17 civil society organizations which include the Anti- Corruption Coalition of Uganda (ACCU), Advocates Coalition in Development and Environment (ACODE), Action Aid – Uganda, Advocates for Public International Law in Uganda (APILU), CARITAS – Uganda, Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA), Foundation for Human Rights Initiatives (FHRI), Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA – Uganda); Kabarole Research Centre (KRC); ISIS – WICCE Women cross- cultural Exchange, Uganda Debt Network (UDN); Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC); Uganda Society for the Disabled Children (USDC); Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET); Facilitation for Peace and Development (FAPAD); Uganda Human Rights Network (HURINET – Uganda) and the Uganda NGO Forum (UNNGOF). 2 The Full text of the CPPU is assessabled in Annex A to this Report.

1

1

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A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

1.1 Objectives of the Assessment

The overall objective of the Assessment was to track progress and assess the performance of the institution of the 9th Parliament of Uganda half way its tenure, and within the context of the citizens’ expectations. It was also based on the set agenda of the House for the Sessions there within.

The specific objectives of the assessment were:

• To assess the extent to which the institution of Parliament has performed and delivered in accordance with constitutional obligations as well as citizens expectations as contained in the 11 standards of Citizens Charter for Parliament. • To analyze key legislations, resolutions and policies passed by the 9th Parliament and establish the extent to which they are representative of the common good, respect to the constitution, and the Citizens Manifesto ideals. • To assess the performance of the 9th Parliament at both plenary and committee level in relation to their outputs within the context of various dimensions of different standards contained in the Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament; • To assess the Citizens perceptions on the performance of the 9th parliament with the aim to increase and strengthen citizens own involvement and participation in parliamentary business especially in its core mandate of legislation and executive oversight. • Finally, based on Citizens rankings of the different dimensions of the set standards, report on critical areas that Members of the 9th Parliament and Parliament as an institution should focus on in the next 2 years in fulfillment of their mandate.

1.2 The Conceptual framework for this Assessment

Citizens have a basic right to make, contribute to, and influence decisions that affect them. In his book The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right (1762), Jean-Jacques Rousseau theorized that a perfect society should be controlled by the “general will” of its populace. He suggested that assemblies be held in which every citizen can assist in determining the general will. Without this input from the people, there could be no legitimate government. This must be from the people themselves. Rousseau postulates that every law the people have not ratified in person is null and void — is, in fact, not a law and that the legislative power belongs to the people, and can belong to it alone. Article 1 of the Constitution of Uganda is in concord with this because it states that power belongs to the people.

Government can only be legitimate if it has been sanctioned by the people in the role of the sovereign. There is thus a need to have elected representatives to deliberate on the affairs of Government on behalf of the people. These are the MPs who enact laws, approve Government policies, budget expenditure outlays and service delivery programmes. Uganda’s Parliament is a democratic, parliamentary system of government modeled on the Westminster system which is borrowed from the country’s former colonial masters, United Kingdom and it has is a series of procedures for operating a legislature.

The role of the public should not be limited to simply periodic (5year term) election of its leaders. Citizens should not just benefit from the outcomes of decisions but from direct engagement in decision making of parliament. Participation strengthens, deepens and enriches individuals’ understanding and appreciation of their own capacities and enhances their ability to work productively with others. Thus systematic monitoring through Assessments of this nature should generate focused and robust public debate.

It is also hoped that this Assessment will contribute to the ‘strengthening of the oversight functions of Parliament for accountable service delivery, as contained in Strategy 3 of the Parliament of Uganda 5-year Strategic Investment Plan (PSIP) 2012-2017.

The Social Contract, Book III, Chapter 15: Deputies or Representatives. The Social Contract, Book III, Chapter 1: Government in General. Holding Members of Parliament Accountable 2006 pp. xiii

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4

2 3

4

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A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

1.3 Process and methodology of this Assessment

To have a comprehensive performance picture of the 9th Parliament in its first three years, the Assessment comprised four main parts. First, building on the Citizens’ Manifesto Charter for Parliament that is derived from the Citizens Manifesto, monitoring indicators were generated for the process. The second part comprised a desk review of available data and reports from plenary and respective committees of parliament, the Hansards and other available reports from civil society, media and academia. The third part comprised informant interviews of key actors from Government, Parliament, Academia, Civil Society as well as media. This phase also comprised the generation of community perspectives through stratified focus group discussions from active citizens in 35 districts currently involved in implementation of the Citizens Manifesto.

1.3.1 Desk review and assessment framework

The Assessment scrutinised the documentary evidence within the institution of parliament to obtain and make available to citizens evidence of performance or otherwise of Parliament as an institution. This included data from the Parliament watch index, an attempt to track the progress of Parliament in fulfilling the Citizens demands in the citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament.

Based on the data obtained in the desk review, the performance of the 9th parliament was grouped and scored for the purpose of this study into three categories of; Essential, Relevant and Desirable standards as derived from the Charter. Seven of the eleven standards were identified for the purpose of the Assessment to be essential in the performance of parliament and in the delivery to citizens’ expectations. A higher value and weight of up to 70% of the total performance score was attached to the Essential category and was respectively distributed to the different aspects of the 7 essential standards.

Three of the 11 standards were identified as being relevant to the functioning of parliament and delivery to citizens’ expectations. The weight of 25% of the total performance score was allocated and also spread to different aspects of the three relevant standards. Finally, one standard was graded as desirable with a weight of 5% of the total parliamentary score in the delivery of the citizens’ expectations.

1.3.2 The Methodology for Regional Consultations

A sample of active citizens in expert group discussions in the 35 districts currently implementing the Citizens’ manifesto was made. The sampled citizen representatives in this study was required to give their perceptions on the 9th parliament’s performance on each of the 11 standards contained in the Citizen’s Charter for Parliament.

A total of 1,050 respondents consisting of a stratified sample of 30 respondents in each of the 35 districts were engaged in panel discussions for this exercise, comprising women, youth, men, civil society actors, civil servants, among others. A citizens’ opinion assessment survey was guided by a questionnaire generated from different aspects of the 11 standards contained in the Charter.

The districts were selected on the basis of even distribution across the country. In each of the 35 districts another set of/, respondents were selected from at least 3 Sub Counties evenly. In each district, a total of 40 respondents were interviewed. At least 2 LC3 Chairpersons, 5 LCV Counsellors, 5 CSO leaders, 5 Youth Councillors, 5 Local government technocrats, 5 Women politicians, 5 ordinary citizens, 3 persons with disability and 5 others including the business community and faith-based organisations were covered, making a total of 1,400 respondents. In total therefore, 2450 respondents were interviewed.

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10UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

1.4 Mandate of Parliament

The Parliament of the Republic of Uganda is made up of a single House, the National Assembly, with a Speaker elected from the members of Parliament. This is the main legislative body in which elected and appointed Members from all over the country meet to draft, debate and pass laws/legislation through which the institutions of government endeavor to guide the country’s progress and ensure good governance. Parliament derives its roles/functions from Chapter Six of the Constitution of Uganda.

The three main parliamentary functions are; oversight of government business, legislation and representation. These are derived from the provisions of the Constitution of Uganda which provides in Article 79 that Parliament shall have power to make laws on any matter for the peace, order, development and good governance of Uganda. In addition Parliament undertakes the following functions:

• Provides, by giving legislative sanction to taxation and acquisition of loans, the means of carrying out the work of government; and • Scrutinizes government policy and administration; and approves presidential nominations for ministers, judges, ambassadors and other positions specified in the Constitution.

While the role and mandate of the parliament are clearly articulated in chapter six of the constitution, it is important that these duties are diligently conducted in order to satisfy the nation’s expectations. Therefore, timely reviews and assessments are needed in order to establish whether parliament is on track with its functions and its duties to the citizens. This report gives an assessment of what parliament has actually managed to accomplish and the tasks it has undertaken in order to meet citizens’ expectations as enshrined in the Citizens Manifesto and is keen to identify gaps that need to be addressed. Snapshots of the findings are presented in the matrix that follows in the next section:

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A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

Presentation of findingsPart 2

This Matrix presents key findings of the 9th Parliament’s performance for last 3 Years, based on the 11 Standards in the Citizens’ Manifesto Charter for Parliament.

Key

Indicator Percentage range Scale scored Explanations 76% to 100% Excellent Substantive Positive actions 56% to 75% GOOD Moderate Positive actions 36% to 55% MODERATE Limited Positive action 0 to 35% POOR minor actions or Stagnation/Regression

Page 12: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

12UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

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Page 13: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

13

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

Exp

ecte

d ac

tion

s on

Bus

ines

s

1. R

evie

w, a

men

d an

d re

peal

the

ex

isti

ng

law

s to

cr

eate

an

en

ablin

g en

viro

nmen

t fo

r a

smoo

th

runn

ing

of

busi

ness

en

terp

rise

s an

d lo

cal i

ndus

try.

2.

Inst

itut

e m

easu

res

that

pr

omot

e an

d pr

otec

t lo

cal

init

iati

ves,

inno

vati

ons

spec

i.al

skill

s, t

alen

ts a

nd A

rt in

dust

ry

• E

ight

la

ws

pass

ed

i.e.

Inco

me

tax

(am

endm

ent)

A

ct,

2012

an

d;

the

exci

se

tari

ff (a

men

dmen

t)

Act

20

12

and

2013

; th

e ea

st A

fric

an e

x cis

e m

anag

emen

t (A

men

dmen

t)

act,

2012

; an

d th

e V

alue

A

dded

T

ax

(am

endm

ent)

A

cts

2011

, 201

2 &

201

3

GO

OD

Whi

le it

can

be

argu

ed t

hat

the

tax

law

s am

ende

d by

th

e 9t

h pa

rlia

men

t ha

ve p

osit

ivel

y im

pact

ed o

n th

e ec

onom

y (w

ith

mor

e fo

reig

n di

rect

in

vest

men

ts

attr

acte

d in

thi

s pe

riod

), m

ajor

ity

of t

he n

ew t

axes

ha

ve p

lace

d a

heav

y ta

x bu

rden

on

the

poor

as

wel

l as

sm

all

&m

ediu

m s

ize

ente

rpri

ses

that

pay

up

to

47%

of

thei

r gr

oss

mar

gins

com

pare

d to

5%

of

the

bigg

er e

nter

pris

es t

hat

enjo

y ta

x ex

empt

ions

• R

evie

w t

he t

ax l

aws

to

incl

ude

mea

sure

s th

at

dire

ctly

pr

otec

t an

d pr

omot

e th

e gr

owth

of

loca

l SM

Es.

Rev

iew

the

cur

rent

law

s to

pr

ovid

e fo

r th

e pr

otec

tion

an

d pr

omot

ion

of

loca

l in

nova

tion

s, a

nd t

alen

t

2.

Exp

ecte

d ac

tion

s to

st

reng

then

St

ate

Inst

itut

ions

Leg

isla

te

on

and

prov

ide

over

sigh

t to

war

ds c

reat

ing

effe

ctiv

e an

d ef

ficie

nt

func

tion

ing

of

stat

e in

stit

utio

ns.

App

ropr

iate

bu

dget

to

fa

cilit

ate

and

supp

ort

effe

ctiv

e,

effic

ient

an

d su

stai

nabl

e ru

nnin

g of

sta

te

inst

itut

ions

Eig

htee

n A

cts

pass

ed1

GO

OD

• B

udge

t al

loca

tion

to

gove

rnm

ent

inst

itut

ions

lik

e th

e pu

blic

se

rvic

e,

pris

ons,

ju

dici

ary

etc

is

inad

equa

te

resu

ltin

g to

the

ir in

effic

ienc

y an

d po

or s

ervi

ce d

eliv

ery

Und

ue i

nflu

ence

fro

m t

he e

xecu

tive

is

cite

d as

one

of

the

reas

ons

for

the

inef

ficie

ncy

• R

atio

naliz

e an

d in

crea

se

reso

urce

al

loca

tion

to

st

ate

inst

itut

ions

.

• In

crea

se

over

sigh

t an

d vi

gila

nce

on

stat

e in

stit

utio

ns

for

m

ore

effe

ctiv

e an

d ef

ficie

nt

serv

ice

deliv

ery

T

hese

inc

lude

: th

e U

gand

a N

atio

nal

Bur

eau

of S

tand

ards

Act

No.

10,

201

0; t

he C

apit

al M

arke

t A

utho

rity

Act

No.

12 o

f 20

11;

the

nati

onal

pop

ulat

ion

coun

cil

Act

, 20

13;

the

Uga

nda

Com

mun

icat

ions

Reg

ulat

ory

Aut

hori

ty A

ct, 2

012;

the

Loc

al g

over

nmen

ts A

ct 2

013;

the

Fin

ance

Act

s 20

11, 2

012

& 2

013;

the

Stam

ps A

ct, 2

011;

the

Val

ue A

dded

Tax

Act

s, 20

11, 2

012

& 2

013;

th

e In

com

e T

ax A

cts,

2011

, 201

2 &

201

3; t

he E

xcis

e T

ariff

Act

s 20

11, 2

012

& 2

013

5

Page 14: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

14UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

Stan

dard

2:

Pro

tect

Uga

nda’

s N

atio

nal

Inte

rest

s in

clud

ing

at R

egio

nal

and

Inte

rnat

iona

l le

vels

, by

pro

mot

ing

peac

e an

d se

curi

ty,

prot

ecti

ng U

gand

a’s

dive

rse

cult

ural

her

itag

e, p

rese

rvat

ion

of t

he d

igni

ty o

f ev

ery

Uga

ndan

and

eco

nom

ic i

nter

ests

, pr

otec

ting

Uga

nda’

s N

atur

al R

esou

rces

as

wel

l as

enha

ncin

g U

gand

a’s

Hum

an C

apit

al d

evel

opm

ent:

• F

rom

the

per

cept

ion

surv

ey 6

3.3%

of

Uga

ndan

s fe

lt t

hat

gove

rnm

ent

is d

oing

eno

ugh

for

peac

e an

d se

curi

ty i

n th

e co

untr

y w

hile

tho

se

who

ans

wer

ed in

the

neg

ativ

e w

ere

28.9

% a

nd 6

.2%

wer

e no

t su

re a

s th

e re

st r

efra

ined

from

giv

ing

any

answ

ers

• A

noth

er 4

4.1%

ans

wer

ed y

es w

hen

aske

d if

the

y ha

d se

en o

r he

ard

of t

he p

arlia

men

t co

nduc

ting

ove

rsig

ht v

isit

s to

ins

ecur

e ar

e as

, bot

h na

tion

ally

an

d re

gion

ally

or

cond

ucte

d pu

blic

hea

ring

s on

cit

izen

s’ s

ecur

ity

con

cern

s w

hile

44.

1% a

nsw

ered

NO

, and

the

res

t, 1

0.5%

ref

rain

ed f

rom

giv

ing

any

answ

ers

Cit

izen

s’

anti

cipa

ted

acti

ons

from

the

9th P

arli

amen

t

Key

fin

ding

s of

spe

cifi

c ac

tion

s ta

ken

by

the

9th P

arli

amen

t V

erdi

ct

Gap

s R

ecom

men

dati

ons

1.

Exp

ecte

d ac

tion

s on

Pea

ce

& S

ecur

ity

• R

esol

ving

so

me

of

the

nati

onal

, re

gion

al

and

inte

rnat

iona

l con

flict

s;

Ens

urin

g te

rrit

oria

l in

tegr

ity,

pe

ace

and

Secu

rity

i.e

. am

ong

EA

C

mem

ber

stat

es,

DR

C,

Sout

h Su

dan,

So

mal

ia

and

Cen

tral

Afr

ica

Effe

ctiv

e su

perv

isio

n of

pe

rfor

man

ce o

f st

ate

secu

rity

in

stit

utio

ns

Fin

ding

s:

• M

Ps

have

con

tinu

ed t

o ra

ise

stat

emen

ts

conc

erni

ng

peac

e an

d se

curi

ty

e.g.

du

ring

deb

ate

on t

he S

tate

of t

he N

atio

n A

ddre

ss (

May

201

1, 2

012,

201

3, 2

014)

as

wel

l as

mot

ions

e.g

.

• Se

ekin

g ex

plan

atio

n on

dep

loym

ent

of

UP

DF

and

UP

F i

n fo

reig

n co

untr

ies

such

as

the

Rep

ublic

of

Sout

h Su

dan,

C

AR

On

the

plig

ht o

f th

e fo

rmer

ly a

bduc

ted

child

ren

and

pers

ons

affe

cted

by

th

e L

ord’

s R

esis

tanc

e A

rmy

2014

• O

n de

ploy

men

t of

U

PD

F

in

Sout

h Su

dan

and

the

Stat

us

of

forc

es

agre

emen

t.

The

ala

rmin

g yo

uth

unem

ploy

men

t, as

a

sour

ce o

f inc

reas

ed c

rim

e an

d na

tion

al

inse

curi

ty, w

ere

also

dis

cuss

ed.

GO

OD

Inte

r di

stri

ct

bord

er

conf

lict

(i.e.

Si

roko

/Kap

chor

wa;

K

atak

wi/

Kar

amoj

a;

Am

uru/

Adj

uman

i; K

abar

ole/

Nto

roko

; M

igin

go

cont

inue

to

loom

• JL

OS

as

one

of

the

mos

t en

ablin

g se

ctor

s of

na

tion

al

peac

e, j

usti

ce a

nd s

ecur

ity

in

Uga

nda

have

fina

ncin

g ga

ps,

• B

udge

t sh

ares

fur

ther

ind

icat

e th

at 5

0.56

% o

f th

e to

tal

sect

or

budg

et 2

013/

14 i

s al

loca

ted

to

Uga

nda

Pol

ice

For

ce, f

ollo

wed

by

U

gand

a P

riso

n Se

rvic

es

(13.

79%

) an

d Ju

dici

ary

only

(1

0.88

%).

The

le

ast

shar

e is

al

loca

ted

to

Judi

cial

Se

rvic

e C

omm

issi

on

(0.4

2%)

and

Uga

nda

Reg

istr

atio

n Se

rvic

es

Bur

eau

(0.5

0%),

whi

ch a

re t

wo

very

cr

itic

al

play

ers

in

the

sect

or.

Incr

ease

d vi

gila

nce

of

the

Pol

ice

For

ce

has

gene

rate

d fu

rthe

r re

spon

sibi

litie

s fo

r si

ster

in

stit

utio

ns

such

as

U

gand

a P

riso

n Se

rvic

es,

DP

P

and

Judi

ciar

y,

who

se

budg

et

allo

cati

ons,

unf

ortu

nate

ly, h

ave

rem

aine

d st

atic

.

• P

arlia

men

t ne

eds

to r

evis

e th

e bu

dget

to

ad

equa

tely

su

ppor

t th

e Ju

stic

e L

aw a

nd

Ord

er

Sect

or

(JL

OS)

to

en

hanc

e po

licy

and

lega

l re

form

s;

prov

ide

acce

ss

to

JLO

S se

rvic

es a

nd i

nsti

tute

a

hum

an

righ

ts

and

acco

unta

bilit

y fu

ncti

on

amon

g JL

OS

inst

itut

ions

. T

he

incr

ease

d bu

dget

w

ill

assi

st

JLO

S to

ha

ndle

it

s m

ajor

ch

alle

nges

of

co

rrup

tion

and

sho

rtag

e of

st

aff.

Par

liam

ent

shou

ld

stre

ngth

en

mea

sure

s to

ad

dres

s in

cide

nces

of

co

rrup

tion

am

ong

all

stat

e in

stit

utio

ns.

Giv

en

that

in

th

e In

spec

tora

te

of

Gov

ernm

ent

(IG

) re

port

of

2011

, th

e U

gand

a P

olic

e F

orce

was

bra

nded

as

the

mos

t co

rrup

t in

stit

utio

n fo

llow

ed

by

the

Judi

ciar

y.

The

E

ast

Afr

ican

B

ribe

ry

Inde

x 20

11

rate

d th

e U

gand

a P

olic

e as

the

mos

t co

rrup

t in

th

e fiv

e E

ast

Afr

ican

co

untr

ies.

C

orru

ptio

n in

crea

ses

the

cost

of

pu

blic

se

rvic

e de

liver

y an

d im

plem

enta

tion

of p

ublic

pro

ject

s,

besi

des

erod

ing

publ

ic

conf

iden

cein

the

inst

itut

ion.

Page 15: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

15

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

The

in

crea

sed

resp

onsi

bilit

y am

ong

othe

r JL

OS

inst

itut

ions

, ha

s ca

lled

for

a su

pple

men

tary

bu

dget

am

ount

ing

to

Ush

s.

47.8

5 bi

llion

, w

hich

w

as

abou

t 9%

ab

ove

the

allo

cate

d se

ctor

bu

dget

for

FY

201

2/13

.6

The

E

xecu

tive

co

ntin

ues

to

unde

rmin

e P

arlia

men

t on

th

e de

ploy

men

t of

UP

DF

as

it h

as

been

se

nt

to

othe

r co

untr

ies

wit

hout

the

(in

som

e oc

casi

ons)

w

ith

retr

ogre

ssiv

e ap

prov

al

of

the

parl

iam

ent.

Thi

s ha

s be

en s

een

to u

nder

min

e th

e se

curi

ty o

f ot

her

nati

ons

and

at

the

sam

e ti

me

com

prom

ise

Uga

nda’

s na

tion

al s

ecur

ity

• P

arlia

men

t sh

ould

ins

titu

te

a m

onit

orin

g te

am

to

iden

tify

an

d ad

dres

s ch

alle

nges

th

at

proh

ibit

in

stit

utio

ns

from

im

plem

enti

ng

law

s.

Acc

ordi

ng

to

the

Glo

bal

Inte

grit

y re

port

of

20

11,

Uga

nda

was

rat

ed a

t 98

%

for

havi

ng

the

requ

ired

le

gal

fram

ewor

k in

pl

ace,

bu

t ra

ted

at 5

1% f

or a

ctua

l im

plem

enta

tion

of t

he s

ame.

• M

any

inst

itut

ions

la

ck

inde

pend

ence

an

d op

erat

e un

der

rest

rict

ions

, w

hile

for

so

me

it i

s th

e la

ck o

f hu

man

an

d fin

anci

al

reso

urce

s.

To

impr

ove

pred

icta

bilit

y an

d ce

rtai

nty

of

the

lega

l fr

amew

ork,

la

w

refo

rm

shou

ld g

o ha

nd i

n ha

nd w

ith

enfo

rcem

ent

of la

ws.

Ref

er t

o su

pple

men

tary

bud

get

sche

dule

No.

1 F

Y 2

012/

13 t

able

d on

9th

Apr

il, 2

013

6

Page 16: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

16UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

Pro

tect

ion

and

Pro

mot

ion

on U

gand

a’s

Nat

ural

Res

ourc

es: F

rom

the

perc

eptio

n su

rvey

, onl

y 26

.6%

felt

that

the

9th

parl

iam

ent w

as e

ffect

ive

in h

er

effo

rts t

o co

nser

ve a

nd m

anag

e Uga

nda’

s nat

ural

res

ourc

es o

n be

half

of it

s citi

zens

whi

le 6

1.7%

ans

wer

ed in

the

nega

tive,

9% w

ere n

ot su

re a

nd th

e re

st re

frai

ned

from

giv

ing

any

answ

ers

Exp

ecta

tion

s on

N

atur

al

reso

urce

s:

• T

he

9th

Par

liam

ent

pass

es

legi

slat

ions

an

d m

akes

pa

rlia

men

tary

re

solu

tion

as

w

ell

as

appr

opri

atin

g on

bu

dget

s on

nat

ural

res

ourc

es

man

agem

ent.

Leg

isla

tes

on

appr

opri

ate

envi

ronm

enta

l m

itig

atio

n m

easu

res.

• M

inin

g le

gisl

ativ

e ac

tion

s an

d ov

ersi

ght

man

date

s.

• N

o of

re

solu

tion

s di

rect

ing

gove

rnm

ent

to r

esol

ve w

ater

is

sues

. •

No

of s

umm

onin

g of

rel

evan

t m

inis

trie

s re

late

d to

w

ater

re

sour

ces,

N

o fo

llow

up

on

vi

olat

ors

of t

he e

nvir

onm

ent

e.g

char

coal

bu

rner

s,

was

te

dum

ping

com

pani

es.

• N

o of

am

endm

ents

to

la

ws

rela

ting

to

th

e en

viro

nmen

t an

d na

tura

l res

ourc

es.

• F

our

Law

s pa

ssed

un

der

this

ar

ea

incl

udin

g:

the

Pet

role

um

Ref

inin

g,

conv

ersi

on,

tran

smis

sion

and

mid

stre

am

stor

age

Act

, 20

13

; th

e G

eogr

aphi

cal

Indi

cati

ons

Act

, 20

13;

the

Pet

role

um

(exp

lora

tion

, de

velo

pmen

t an

d pr

oduc

tion

) A

ct,

2012

; th

e U

gand

a N

atio

nal

Met

eoro

logi

cal

Aut

hori

ty

Act

, 20

12

Whi

le

two

Bil

ls

wer

e un

der

cons

ider

atio

n in

clud

ing:

T

he

Uga

nda

Wild

life

Edu

cati

on C

ente

r B

ill;

and

the

Uga

nda

Wild

life

Res

earc

h an

d T

rain

ing

Inst

itut

e B

ill, 2

013

The

P

arli

amen

tary

C

omm

itte

e on

N

atur

al

Res

ourc

es

in

2013

ob

serv

ed

and

reco

mm

ende

d fo

r th

e fo

llow

ing

acti

ons:

tha

t th

e N

atio

nal

Tre

e-P

lant

ing

and

For

estr

y A

ct

be

revi

ewed

to

st

ream

line

the

man

agem

ent

of N

atio

nal

and

Loc

al F

ores

t R

eser

ves.

• T

hat

NE

MA

and

NF

A s

houl

d re

crui

t an

d tr

ain

its

own

250

Env

iron

men

tal P

olic

e to

pr

otec

t fo

rest

s an

d w

etla

nds

Tha

t go

vern

men

t pr

ovi d

es

UG

X

37,5

99,0

00,0

00 a

s re

quir

ed,

in a

pha

sed

man

ner

to e

nabl

e th

e M

inis

try

cond

uct

geol

ogic

al m

appi

ng in

Kar

amoj

a re

gion

GO

OD

The

Pet

role

um l

aws

wer

e pa

ssed

hu

rrie

dly

desp

ite

oppo

siti

on fr

om

sect

ions

of

ex

pert

s an

d ci

vil

soci

ety

agai

nst

prov

isio

ns s

uch

as

Sect

ions

of t

he O

il an

d G

as L

aws

that

giv

es m

ore

pow

ers

to t

he

Min

iste

r.

The

sa

me

law

lim

its

the

over

sigh

t ro

le o

f pa

rlia

men

t in

th

e up

stre

am s

ecto

r

The

min

eral

sec

tor

cont

inue

s to

be

gro

ssly

und

erfu

nded

de

spit

e it

s po

tent

ial t

o th

e co

untr

y.

The

Min

istr

y ha

s be

en a

lloca

ted

USh

s 3.

59

billi

on

in

the

FY

2013

/14

for

airb

orne

ge

olog

ical

an

d ge

ophy

sica

l m

appi

ng o

f the

Kar

amoj

a re

gion

.

• H

owev

er

to

effe

ctiv

ely

cond

uct

airb

orne

geo

logi

cal a

ctiv

itie

s, t

he

Min

istr

y re

quir

es

USh

s 34

bi

llion

.

• C

ompe

l go

vern

men

t to

re

gula

rly

subm

it

repo

rts

on

enfo

rcem

ent

of

the

envi

ronm

enta

l an

d ot

her

natu

ral r

esou

rce

law

s.

Par

liam

ent

shou

ld

empo

wer

re

gula

tory

bo

dies

by

in

crea

sing

fin

anci

ng

and

over

sigh

t on

th

eir

perf

orm

ance

.

Page 17: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

17

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

17

3.

Exp

ecta

tion

s on

C

ultu

ral

inst

itut

ions

Res

olve

the

que

stio

n of

une

ven

allo

tmen

t of

re

sour

ces

and

the

pref

eren

tial

tr

eatm

ent

exte

nded

to

som

e cu

ltur

al in

stit

utio

ns o

ver

othe

rs b

y th

e ex

ecut

ive.

D

evel

op p

roce

dure

s& l

egis

lati

ve

reso

luti

ons

on

the

retu

rn

&

faci

litat

ion

of

all

cult

ural

in

stit

utio

ns p

rope

rtie

s

R

esol

ve

thro

ugh

publ

ic

mit

igat

ions

an

d di

alog

ue

the

sim

mer

ing

dish

arm

onie

s an

d co

nflic

ts

amon

g cu

ltur

al

inst

itut

ions

F

acili

tate

th

roug

h bu

dget

al

loca

tion

s an

d la

ws

the

deve

lopm

ent

and

prot

ecti

on

of

trad

itio

nal v

alue

s an

d he

rita

ge

Fin

ding

s

Sp

ecifi

c la

ws

in l

ine

wit

h pr

otec

tion

of

the

cul

tura

l he

rita

ge w

ere

pass

ed

incl

udin

g th

e A

nti

porn

ogra

phy

Act

, an

d th

e A

nti-

hom

osex

ualit

y A

ct,

amid

st

wid

e cr

itic

ism

fr

om

righ

ts

acti

vist

s an

d th

e in

tern

atio

nal c

omm

unit

y.

Que

stio

ns w

ere

rais

ed o

n m

easu

res

gove

rnm

ent

has

put

in

plac

e to

pr

otec

t al

l th

e im

port

ant

anti

quit

ies,

cu

ltur

al

and

hist

oric

si

tes

in

the

coun

try

on

the

list

of

all

trad

itio

nal/

cult

ural

lea

ders

tha

t ar

e re

cogn

ized

an

d fa

cilit

ated

by

th

e G

over

nmen

t an

d in

dica

te

thei

r re

spec

tive

juri

sdic

tion

s

MO

DE

RA

TE

G

aps

So

me

sect

ions

of

th

e A

nti-

ho

mos

exua

lity

Act

are

cri

tici

sed

for

viol

atin

g hu

man

rig

hts

T

he

pass

age

of

the

Ant

i-P

orno

grap

hy A

ct a

ttra

cted

diff

eren

t in

terp

reta

tion

s by

the

pub

lic w

ho i

n so

me

inst

ance

s to

ok

it

upon

th

emse

lves

to

wom

en p

urpo

rted

to

be d

ress

ed in

a s

kim

py m

anne

r

T

he

Inst

itut

ion

of

Tra

diti

onal

or

C

ultu

ral

Lea

ders

Act

201

1 is

bei

ng

chal

leng

ed

for

infr

ingi

ng

on

cult

ural

le

ader

’s ri

ghts

of

ex

pres

sion

, as

sem

bly

and

a sso

ciat

ion

, and

its

non

con

form

ity

to A

rtic

le 2

46 o

f th

e co

nsti

tuti

on o

f U

gand

a .

Bud

get

allo

cati

on

to

trad

itio

nal

inst

itut

ions

re

mai

ns

very

sm

all

to

supp

ort

thei

r fu

ncti

onin

g.

Rec

omm

enda

tion

:

Par

liam

ent

shou

ld

ende

avor

to

resp

ect

its

own

proc

edur

es

whi

le

exer

cisi

ng

its

man

date

, e.

g. o

n is

sues

to

do w

ith

quor

um.

The

A

nti

hom

osex

ualit

y A

ct

and

Pub

lic

Ord

er

Man

agem

ent

Act

fo

r in

stan

ce

wer

e pa

ssed

w

itho

ut

the

requ

ired

tw

o th

irds

m

ajor

ity

quor

um.

4. P

rote

ctio

n of

Uga

ndan

s di

gnit

y &

nat

iona

l eco

nom

ic in

tere

sts.

From

the

per

cept

ion

surv

ey o

nly

36.7

% f

eel P

arlia

men

t ha

s do

ne e

noug

h in

fac

ilita

ting

agr

icul

ture

for

the

loca

l cit

izen

ry w

hile

50%

wer

e di

ssat

isfi

ed

wit

h go

vern

men

t’s r

espo

nse,

9.8

% w

ere

not

sure

and

the

res

t re

frai

ned

from

giv

ing

any

answ

er.

The

sur

vey

furt

her

reve

aled

tha

t 61

.7%

fel

t un

sati

sfie

d w

ith

legi

slat

ion

prov

idin

g ta

x ho

liday

s an

d ot

her

ince

ntiv

es t

o fo

reig

n fi

rms

and

busi

ness

es in

eff

orts

to

attr

act

fore

ign

dire

ct in

vest

men

t w

hile

23%

ans

wer

ed in

neg

ativ

e, 1

0.5%

wer

e no

t su

re a

nd t

he r

est

refr

aine

d fr

om g

ivin

g an

y an

swer

.

Fi

eld

find

ings

fur

ther

ind

icat

e th

at o

nly

17.9

% o

f th

e ci

tize

ns w

ere

sati

sfie

d w

ith

the

9th p

arlia

men

t’s e

ffor

ts i

n en

ablin

g le

gal

fram

ewor

ks a

nd

budg

etar

y ac

tion

s to

war

ds h

elpi

ng S

mal

l an

d M

ediu

m S

cale

Ent

erpr

ises

inv

olvi

ng t

he o

rdin

ary

citi

zens

whi

le 3

7% w

ere

not.

Ano

ther

12.

9% f

elt

that

pa

rlia

men

t pr

ovid

es t

he n

eces

sary

legi

slat

ion

and

budg

etar

y su

ppor

t ge

ared

tow

ards

sol

ving

une

mpl

oym

ent

chal

leng

es fa

ced

by U

gand

ans.

C

itiz

en

expe

ctat

ions

on

U

gand

a’s

dign

ity

and

econ

omic

in

tere

sts:

R

evie

w t

he t

ax e

xcep

tion

s po

licy

on f

orei

gn b

usin

esse

s an

d pu

t in

Fin

ding

s:

Fou

r A

cts

pass

ed

unde

r th

is

area

, in

clud

ing:

the

ind

ustr

ial

prop

erty

Act

, 20

13,

the

Com

pani

es A

ct n

o.1,

201

2,

the

Inso

lven

cy A

ct, N

o.14

of 2

011,

and

GO

OD

G

aps:

F

undi

ng t

o ag

ricu

ltur

e ha

s re

mai

ned

very

low

yet

U

gand

a is

larg

ely

an a

grar

ian

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s:

Rev

ise

the

polic

y pr

ovis

ions

fo

r th

e bu

sine

ss

com

mun

ity

and

regu

lato

ry f

ram

ewor

k fo

r bu

sine

ss

oper

atio

n st

art

up

Page 18: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

18UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

18

7 Uga

nda

Deb

t N

etw

ork,

“Is

sues

pap

er o

n U

gand

a’s

Deb

t St

atus

, Jun

e 20

02/2

003-

June

201

1/20

12”

plac

e ti

ght

cond

itio

ns.

Rev

iew

the

tax

pol

icie

s th

at h

ave

mad

e it

ver

y ex

pens

ive

for

loca

l SM

Es

and

citi

zens

in

clud

ing

a 47

% t

ax b

urde

n.

Rev

iew

the

leg

al p

roce

dure

s th

at

have

co

ntin

ued

to

hind

er

loca

ls

from

sta

rtin

g bu

sine

ss.

Ena

ct

law

s,

reso

luti

ons

and

polic

ies

that

pr

otec

t in

dige

nous

in

nova

tion

s,

art,

indu

stri

es

and

busi

ness

.

U

nder

take

mea

sure

s th

at p

rote

ct

Uga

nda’

s bu

sine

ss

inte

rest

s an

d bu

sine

sses

abr

oad.

R

aise

cu

rren

t bu

dget

al

loca

tion

s to

agr

icul

ture

up

to 1

0% o

f th

e na

tion

al b

udge

t.

the

Acc

ount

ants

(A

men

dmen

t)

Act

20

12.

Six

bill

s in

the

off

ing

i.e. t

he C

hatt

els

Secu

riti

es

Bill

, 20

09;

the

Ant

i-C

ount

erf e

itin

g G

oods

B

ill

No.

22

, 20

10,

the

Fre

e Z

ones

Bill

201

0, t

he

Inve

stm

ent

Cod

e B

ill, 2

010,

the

Pub

lic

Pri

vate

Par

tner

ship

Bill

, 201

0, t

he s

ale

of G

oods

and

Sup

ply

of S

ervi

ces

Bill

, 20

08.

A m

otio

n of

par

liam

ent

to a

utho

rize

go

vern

men

t to

bo

rrow

U

SD

$100

m

illio

n fr

om

the

Inte

rnat

iona

l D

evel

opm

ent

Ass

ocia

tion

of t

he W

orld

B

ank

Gro

up

to

finan

ce

the

Com

peti

tive

ness

an

d E

nter

pris

e D

evel

opm

ent

Pro

ject

A

mot

ion

of p

arlia

men

t to

int

rodu

ce a

pr

ivat

e m

embe

r’s

bill

on

Lan

d an

d A

gric

ultu

ral D

evel

opm

ent

Ban

k

Mot

ion

of

parl

iam

ent

to

auth

oriz

e G

over

nmen

t to

bor

row

US

$ 5

mill

ion

from

the

ISF

D t

o su

ppor

t th

e D

ry la

nd

Inte

grat

ed

Dev

elop

men

t P

roje

ct

in

Kar

amoj

a

M

otio

n of

pa

rlia

men

t on

th

e in

equi

tabl

e ad

mis

sion

cr

iter

ia

of

Stud

ents

at

M

aker

ere

Uni

vers

ity,

K

ampa

la 2

014

Pol

icy

mea

sure

s ha

ve b

een

desi

gned

to

impr

ove

busi

ness

en

viro

nmen

t an

d re

duce

the

cos

t of

run

ning

bus

ines

s,

cons

ulta

tion

s to

est

ablis

h a

One

Sto

p

econ

omy

impl

ying

tha

t ag

ricu

ltur

e ha

s a

huge

impa

ct

on t

he e

cono

my.

A

gric

ultu

re

budg

et

allo

cati

ons

not

in

tand

em

wit

h C

ompr

ehen

sive

A

fric

a A

gric

ultu

re

Dev

elop

men

t P

rogr

amm

e (C

AA

DP

) de

clar

atio

n ta

rget

of

at l

east

10

%,

allo

cati

on

of

the

Nat

iona

l B

udge

t, th

e ag

ricu

ltur

al

annu

al

budg

et

also

fa

lls

belo

w

the

ND

P

targ

et o

f 4.0

%.

Infla

tion

in

U

gand

a is

fo

r in

stan

ce d

rive

n by

food

pri

ces

as

evid

ence

d in

th

e 27

.2%

w

eigh

t gi

ven

to fo

od in

flati

on.

The

hig

h le

ndin

g ra

tes

have

re

stri

cted

acc

ess

to c

redi

t as

le

ndin

g ra

tes

are

still

as

high

as

23.

1%.

P

ublic

deb

t co

ntin

ues

to g

row

at

ala

rmin

g ra

te,

an i

ncre

ase

in e

xter

nal

borr

owin

g ro

se t

o $5

.6bi

llion

in

20

137 w

hich

pl

aces

us

in t

he t

op r

ank

of

high

ly- i

ndeb

ted

coun

trie

s w

ith

ques

tion

able

cap

acit

y to

pa

y.

As

of

30th

A

pril

2011

, th

e to

tal

dom

esti

c de

bt r

esul

ting

fr

om i

ssua

nce

of G

over

nmen

t se

curi

ties

by

Ban

k of

Uga

nda

for

mon

etar

y pu

rpos

es

was

U

GX

3.8

7 tr

illio

n, H

owev

er,

and

prot

ecti

on,

incr

easi

ng

dom

inat

ion

of

impo

rted

m

anuf

actu

red

prod

ucts

th

at

affe

ct

loca

l pr

oduc

tion

ca

pabi

lity

and

busi

ness

re

gula

tory

in

effic

ienc

ies

amon

g ot

hers

.

P

arlia

men

t sh

ould

ca

use

gove

rnm

ent

to

dire

ct

publ

ic

expe

ndit

ure

to

mor

e pr

oduc

tive

ar

eas

of

the

econ

omy

like

Agr

icul

ture

w

hich

is

the

coun

try’

s m

ajor

ec

onom

ic b

ackb

one.

Thi

s w

ill

boos

t ec

onom

ic

grow

th

and

redu

ce

publ

ic

debt

s an

d bo

rrow

ing.

St

reng

then

m

onit

orin

g ca

paci

ty

of

parl

iam

ent

to

over

see

the

perf

orm

ance

of

va

riou

s ec

onom

ic s

ecto

rs a

nd

stat

e ag

enci

es e

spec

ially

tho

se

that

ha

ve

had

poor

bu

dget

ab

sorp

tion

cap

acit

y th

at a

ffect

se

rvic

e de

liver

y.

Par

liam

ent

need

s to

re

view

so

me

Act

s in

ord

er t

o en

able

th

e ef

ficie

nt

man

agem

ent

of

publ

ic d

ebts

. F

or i

nsta

nce

the

PF

AA

(2

003)

sh

ould

be

re

view

ed t

o pr

escr

ibe

spec

ific

pena

ltie

s/pu

niti

ve

mea

sure

s fo

r pu

blic

se

rvan

ts

who

co

mm

it

Gov

ernm

ent

to

borr

owin

g ov

er

and

abov

e al

loca

ted

budg

etar

y re

sour

ces.

T

he

Deb

t St

rate

gy

of

2007

Uga

nda

Deb

t N

etw

ork,

“Is

sues

pap

er o

n U

gand

a’s

Deb

t St

atus

, Jun

e 20

02/2

003-

June

201

1/20

12”

7

Page 19: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

19

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

19

Cen

tre

;fast

-tra

ckin

g bi

lls l

aid

befo

re

Par

liam

ent;

com

preh

ensi

vely

re

view

ing

busi

ness

lic

ense

s an

d el

imin

atio

n of

re

dund

ant

busi

ness

re

gist

rati

on

proc

edur

es

;and

es

tabl

ishi

ng

an

elec

tron

ic

licen

ses

regi

stry

to

serv

e as

a r

epos

itor

y fo

r al

l ap

prov

ed b

usin

ess

licen

sing

Q

uest

ions

ros

e in

the

flo

w r

egar

ding

th

e fr

uit

fact

ory

pled

ged

by

gove

rnm

ent

to t

he fa

rmer

s of

Tes

o an

d th

e m

easu

res

put

in p

lace

to

first

tra

ck

its

esta

blis

hmen

t.

Q

uest

ions

O

n th

e im

plem

enta

tion

m

odal

itie

s of

th

e M

arke

ts

and

Agr

icul

tura

l T

rade

Im

prov

emen

t P

rogr

amm

e

P

arlia

men

t de

man

ded

gove

rnm

ent

to

inte

rven

e to

sa

ve

the

situ

atio

n of

co

tton

farm

ers

in t

he c

ount

ry.

Su

bsta

ntia

l am

ount

of

m

oney

bo

rrow

ed w

as c

hann

eled

to

prod

ucti

ve

sect

ors

like

agri

cult

ure

tota

l do

mes

tic

arre

ars

peak

ed

in

2006

, w

here

th

e to

tal

outs

tand

ing

dom

esti

c ar

rear

s w

ere

Uga

nda

shill

ings

622

bn.

Ove

r th

e la

st

nine

ye

ars,

do

mes

tic

arre

ars

(exc

ludi

ng

sala

ry &

pen

sion

) co

nsti

tute

d ab

out

58.6

% w

hile

sal

ary

and

pens

ion

arre

ars

cons

titu

te

abou

t 41

.4%

of

th

e to

tal

dom

esti

c ar

rear

s.

As

a re

sult

of

co

nsis

tent

in

crea

se

in

dom

esti

c de

bt

resu

ltin

g fr

om

issu

ance

of

G

over

nmen

t se

curi

ties

, th

e to

tal

inte

rest

pai

d to

hol

ders

of

the

se s

ecur

itie

s ha

s be

en

incr

easi

ng

over

th

e ye

ars,

fr

om a

n an

nual

cos

t of

UG

X

271.

4bn

in 2

007/

8 to

UG

X

514.

7bn

in

2011

/12

and

a pr

ojec

ted

valu

e of

U

GX

71

3.9b

n in

201

2/13

.

also

ne

eds

to

be

revi

ewed

si

nce

the

exis

ting

one

exp

ired

in

201

2.

Par

liam

ent

shou

ld p

rom

ote

the

priv

ate

sect

or t

hrou

gh

influ

enci

ng

com

mer

cial

ba

nks

to

revi

se

thei

r in

tere

st r

ates

to

bett

er s

uite

lo

cal i

nves

tors

.

F

aste

n th

e pr

oces

s to

pas

s ne

w b

usin

ess

Pol

icy

bein

g fa

st t

rack

ed

3. E

nhan

cing

U

gand

a’s

Hum

an

Cap

ital

dev

elop

men

t

Incr

ease

bud

get

allo

cati

ons

to t

he

soci

al a

nd p

rodu

ctiv

e se

ctor

s. A

nd

that

it m

eets

the

inte

rnat

iona

l and

re

gion

al

prot

ocol

s an

d co

mm

itm

ents

on

budg

et.

Mak

e pa

rlia

men

tary

re

solu

tion

s th

at

Pre

ssur

e go

vern

men

t an

d es

peci

ally

min

istr

y of

edu

cati

on t

o re

view

th

e ed

ucat

ion

polic

y an

d cu

rric

ulum

to

mee

t w

ith

curr

ent

job

need

s an

d w

orld

sta

ndar

ds.

Fin

ding

s:

P

asse

d th

e B

uild

ing

Con

trol

A

ct,

2012

F

ive

Bil

ls

unde

r co

nsid

erat

ion

incl

uded

:

the

Imm

uniz

atio

n B

ill,

2014

, the

Tob

acco

Con

trol

Bill

, 201

4,

the

Hig

her

Edu

cati

on

Stud

ents

F

inan

cing

Bill

, 201

3,

the

Hot

el a

nd

Tou

rism

Tra

inin

g In

stit

ute

Bill

, 201

3,

Seve

ral

mot

ions

pre

sent

ed s

uch

as o

n P

WD

s in

clus

ion

in p

hysi

cal e

duca

tion

ac

tivi

ties

, in

terv

enti

on

on

the

GO

OD

In a

ddit

ion

to p

oor

grad

es i

n th

e ed

ucat

ion

sect

or, h

igh

pupi

l cl

assr

oom

ra

tio

and

lack

of

m

otiv

atio

n of

sta

ff as

see

n in

th

e po

or

pay

for

teac

hers

, P

arlia

men

t ha

s no

t do

ne

enou

gh

to

dem

and

MO

E

to

fast

en

the

revi

ew

of

the

ed

ucat

ion

curr

icul

a to

inte

grat

e ot

her

crit

ical

asp

ects

of

hum

an

deve

lopm

ent

like

skill

de

velo

pmen

t e.

g. s

port

s

A

bove

all,

the

edu

cati

on s

yste

m

P

arlia

men

t sh

ould

de

man

d go

vern

men

t to

i

ncre

ase

the

budg

etar

y al

loca

tion

s to

the

w

ages

of

th

e te

achi

ng

and

med

ical

sta

ff to

giv

e m

oral

e

Par

liam

ent

shou

ld

pass

a

parl

iam

enta

ry

reso

luti

on

dem

andi

ng

the

min

istr

y of

E

duca

tion

to

in

trod

uce

a ge

nder

des

k in

eac

h sc

hool

th

at d

eals

wit

h th

e is

sues

of

the

youn

g ad

oles

cent

gi

rls

and

child

ren

wit

h di

sabi

litie

s.

Page 20: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

20UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

20

Mon

itor

w

ith

clos

e in

tere

st

the

soci

al s

ecto

r m

inis

trie

s to

ens

ure

qual

ity

serv

ice

deliv

ery

to

all

citi

zens

es

peci

ally

qu

alit

y of

ed

ucat

ion,

qu

alit

y of

he

alth

se

rvic

es.

Mon

itor

th

e ob

serv

ance

of

in

tern

atio

nal a

nd lo

cal

labo

r L

aws

by fo

reig

n co

mpa

nies

T

ight

en l

aws

and

regu

lati

ons

on

labo

ur

expo

rts

and

unde

rtak

e m

onit

orin

g to

est

ablis

h co

ndit

ions

of

U

gand

an

citi

zens

em

ploy

ed

abro

ad

incr

easi

ng c

ases

of

Hep

atit

is B

vir

us

in U

gand

a,

the

figh

t ag

ains

t M

alar

ia

lead

ing

to

form

atio

n of

the

parl

iam

enta

ry f

orum

on

mal

aria

, an

d ag

gres

sive

a d

voca

cy

for

impl

emen

tati

on

of

the

Mam

a K

it,

redu

ctio

n of

m

othe

r to

ch

ild

tran

smis

sion

of

HIV

/AID

S,

and

the

stat

us

of

orph

aned

an

d vu

lner

able

ch

ildre

n, t

eena

ge p

regn

anci

es

The

re w

ere

also

com

men

dabl

e st

ride

s in

Par

liam

ent’s

act

ion

on i

ncre

asin

g bu

dget

al

loca

tion

fo

r M

OE

an

d pa

ssin

g of

th

e po

licy

on

Bus

ines

s,

Tec

hnic

al a

nd V

ocat

iona

l E

duca

tion

(B

ITV

ET

) an

d sk

illin

g U

gand

a pr

ogra

m.

Incr

ease

d bu

dget

allo

cati

on t

o w

ater

an

d sa

nita

tion

sec

tors

.

is n

ot p

rope

rly

alig

ned

to t

he

need

s of

the

lab

or m

arke

t an

d th

e hu

man

res

ourc

es n

eede

d fo

r tr

ansf

orm

atio

n of

th

e en

tire

ec

onom

y.

Infa

nt a

nd m

ater

nal

mor

talit

y ra

tes

are

still

hi

gh

whi

le

Uga

nda

still

ha

s no

na

tion

al

heal

th

care

in

sura

nce

sche

me

for

all.

T

here

is

also

a n

otic

eabl

e lo

w

Bud

get

Abs

orpt

ion

rate

in

w

ater

an

d sa

nita

tion

se

ctor

w

ith

only

6.7

% o

f th

e 31

.221

bi

llion

allo

cate

d fo

r th

e la

st F

Y

spen

t, ye

t no

vi

sibl

e ac

tion

fr

om

Par

liam

ent

on

its

over

sigh

t ov

er t

he s

ecto

r

Par

liam

ent

shou

ld

tigh

ten

mon

itor

ing

of t

he h

ealt

h an

d ed

ucat

ion

sect

ors

to

ensu

re

qual

ity

of s

ervi

ce d

eliv

ery.

P

arlia

men

t sh

ould

in

crea

se

its

vigi

lanc

e on

bu

dget

m

onit

orin

g fo

r al

l se

ctor

s in

clud

ing

the

Wat

er

and

Sani

tati

on s

ecto

r

A

ccor

ding

ly c

itiz

ens

pers

pect

ives

sho

w t

hat

28.

1% f

elt

the

curr

ent

legi

slat

ion

stre

ngth

ens

and

enha

nces

cit

izen

s’ s

tand

ards

of

livi

ng w

hile

whe

n as

ked

53.1

% r

espo

nded

in t

he n

egat

ive,

13.

3% w

ere

not

sure

and

the

res

t re

frai

ned

from

giv

ing

an a

nsw

er o

r di

d no

t ha

ve e

noug

h in

form

atio

n to

do

so.

T

he o

vera

ll s

core

for

sta

ndar

d 2

acco

rdin

g to

des

k re

view

ind

icat

e th

at o

n a

scal

e of

0 t

o 15

, th

e 9t

h pa

rlia

men

t sc

ored

13.

3 r

epre

sent

ing

subs

tant

ive

pr

ogre

ss d

ue t

o su

bsta

ntiv

e a

ctio

ns u

nder

take

n.

Stan

dard

3:

Inst

itut

e re

form

s to

ens

ure

a le

vel

poli

tica

l pl

ayin

g fi

eld

to r

ealiz

e fr

ee a

nd f

air

elec

tion

s. T

his

shou

ld a

ddre

ss a

buse

of

the

incu

mbe

ncy

fact

or,

open

ing

of p

olit

ical

spa

ce a

nd d

isso

luti

on o

f pa

rlia

men

t an

d co

unci

ls t

hree

mon

ths

to e

lect

ion

Con

stit

utio

nal

&

othe

r L

egal

ob

liga

tion

s of

the

ins

titu

tion

of

Par

liam

ent

E

lect

oral

Com

mis

sion

(E

C),

is m

anda

ted

by t

he C

onst

itut

ion

to o

rgan

ise

and

cond

uct

free

and

fai

r el

ecti

ons

as s

tipu

late

d un

der

Art

icle

61

(1) (

a) o

f the

Con

stit

utio

n an

d se

ctio

n 12

of t

he E

lect

oral

Com

mis

sion

Act

Cap

140

, as

amen

ded.

In

acc

orda

nce

wit

h A

rtic

le 6

2 of

the

Con

stit

utio

n; (s

ee a

lso

Sect

ion

13 o

f the

Ele

ctor

al C

omm

issi

on A

ct C

ap 1

40, a

s am

ende

d)

the

EC

is s

uppo

sed

to b

e in

depe

nden

t an

d no

t su

bjec

t to

the

con

trol

or

auth

orit

y of

any

per

son.

C

itiz

ens’

ant

icip

ated

act

ions

fro

m

the

9th P

arli

amen

t

Key

fin

ding

s of

spe

cifi

c ac

tion

s ta

ken

by t

he 9

th P

arli

amen

t Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

2.

1. E

lect

oral

man

agem

ent

Bod

y

Pas

s a

law

tha

t In

stit

utes

a t

ruly

in

depe

nden

t an

d co

mpe

tent

1.

Ele

ctor

al m

anag

emen

t B

ody

So

me

of t

he a

ctio

ns t

aken

by

the

9th

Par

liam

ent

so fa

r in

clud

e: a

pro

posa

l to

MO

DE

RA

TE

On

the

cont

rary

law

s pa

ssed

by

the

9th

Par

liam

ent

such

as

the

Pub

lic O

rder

Man

agem

ent

Act

P

arlia

men

t sh

ould

em

brac

e th

e ci

tize

n le

d fr

ee a

nd F

air

Ele

ctio

ns

Cam

paig

n an

d

Page 21: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

21

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

21

elec

tora

l co

mm

issi

on

acce

ptab

le

to

all

polit

ical

ac

tors

&

th

e ci

tize

ns.

Am

end/

repe

al o

r in

stit

ute

a ne

w

Law

to

ad

dres

s pe

rsis

tent

re

port

ed

elec

tora

l m

alpr

acti

ces,

an

d m

ism

anag

emen

t of

ele

ctio

n pr

oces

ses

and

outc

omes

.

In

crea

se b

udge

t al

loca

tion

s to

the

el

ecto

ral c

omm

issi

on.

rais

e th

e m

inim

um f

orm

al e

duca

tion

al

requ

irem

ents

for

any

pers

on s

eeki

ng t

o be

com

e a

Mem

ber

of

Par

liam

ent,

ques

tion

s on

the

lack

of f

unds

for

LC

I

& I

I el

ecti

ons,

on

11th

Apr

il 20

12, a

nd

visi

ting

so

me

of t

he a

reas

of

elec

tion

vi

olen

ce a

nd c

ondu

cted

pub

lic h

eari

ng.

Som

e M

embe

rs

and

orga

ns

of

Par

liam

ent

such

as

the

Offi

ce o

f th

e L

eade

r of

O

ppos

itio

n ha

ve

how

ever

be

en a

ctiv

ely

enga

ged

in t

he d

iffer

ent

elec

tora

l re

form

pr

oces

ses

such

C

ampa

ign

for

Fre

e an

d F

air

Ele

ctio

ns

coor

dina

ted

by

Pol

itic

al

Par

ties

an

d C

ivil

Soci

ety,

an

d th

e C

CE

DU

le

d dr

afti

ng o

f Ele

ctio

n re

form

bill

s

have

im

pede

d ci

tize

n le

d pr

oces

ses

dem

andi

ng

for

refo

rms

in t

he e

lect

ion

It

is e

xpec

ted

that

the

sam

e la

w

will

in

hibi

t fr

eedo

m

of

mov

emen

t by

som

e po

litic

ians

in

th

e ru

n up

to

th

e 20

16

elec

tion

s

adop

t th

e re

com

men

dati

ons

in

the

new

el

ecti

on

man

agem

ent

com

pact

tha

t is

be

ing

craf

ted

as p

art

of t

his

proc

ess.

Fie

ld f

indi

ngs

from

the

stu

died

pop

ulat

ion

indi

cate

s th

at,

only

21.

2% a

gree

d th

at t

he 9

th p

arlia

men

t ha

s do

ne e

noug

h to

pro

vide

lev

el g

roun

d fo

r th

e el

ecto

ral c

omm

issi

on to

con

duct

free

and

fair

ele

ctio

ns w

hile

36%

of t

he r

espo

nses

wer

e ne

gati

ve

2.

The

P

ower

of

in

cum

benc

y an

d le

vell

ing

the

poli

tica

l pl

ayin

g fi

eld:

Tri

m t

he in

fluen

ce a

nd p

ower

s of

in

cum

benc

y on

th

e el

ecto

ral

dem

ocra

tic

proc

esse

s th

roug

h ov

ersi

ght

&

tigh

t le

gisl

ativ

e ac

tion

s.

Dem

and

gove

rnm

ent

to

give

eq

ual

fund

ing

to

all

polit

ical

pa

rtie

s.

Pro

vide

mec

hani

sms

that

add

ress

el

ecto

ral

mal

prac

tice

s as

soci

ated

to

th

e in

cum

benc

y su

ch

as

mili

tari

zati

on o

f el

ecti

ons,

exc

ess

use

of m

oney

and

abu

se o

f offi

ce.

Fin

ding

s:

P

arlia

men

t su

mm

oned

the

Min

iste

r fo

r th

e P

resi

denc

y to

app

ear

befo

re

the

com

mit

tee

on t

he c

rise

s in

KC

CA

an

d th

e co

ntin

ued

arre

st o

f the

May

or

The

In

spec

tor

Gen

eral

of

P

olic

e su

mm

oned

to

ap

pear

be

fore

th

e pa

rlia

men

t to

ex

plai

n th

e ar

bitr

ary

arre

sts

of

lead

ers

of

oppo

siti

on

lead

ers

and

thei

r su

ppor

ters

A

M

inis

teri

al

stat

emen

t de

man

ded

and

pres

ente

d by

H

on.

Aro

nda

Nya

kair

ima,

M

inis

ter

of

Inte

rnal

A

ffair

s ex

plai

ning

th

e bl

ocki

ng

of

ralli

es b

y ci

vil

soci

ety

and

polit

ical

pa

rtie

s on

Fre

e an

d F

air

Ele

ctio

ns,

and

com

mit

ting

to

ensu

re

that

the

bl

ocki

ng s

tops

MO

DE

RA

TE

A

lack

of

pu

blic

fin

anci

al

supp

ort

to a

ll po

litic

al p

arti

es

(incl

udin

g op

posi

tion

/opp

onen

ts) d

oes

not

faci

litat

e fr

ee

and

fair

el

ecti

ons/

dem

ocra

cy.

It

was

obs

erve

d th

at t

he la

ck o

f P

resi

dent

ial

term

lim

its

and

pres

ence

th

e m

ilita

ry

in

Par

liam

ent

are

a re

cipe

for

are

lik

ely

to

impe

de

obje

ctiv

e di

scus

sion

on

th

e di

ffere

nt

elec

tora

l re

form

s w

hen

pres

ente

d in

Par

liam

ent

M

ake

parl

iam

enta

ry

reso

luti

on

dire

ctin

g go

vern

men

t to

op

erat

iona

lize

the

PP

OA

on

publ

ic

fund

ing

of

polit

ical

pa

rtie

s.

C

onsi

der

prop

osal

fr

om

citi

zen

led

proc

esse

s su

ch a

s on

th

e F

ree

and

Fai

r E

lelc

tion

s C

ampa

ign

and

the

CC

ED

U

led

Ele

ctor

al

refo

rm

agen

da.

The

se

incl

ude:

re

peal

ing

Sect

ion

14

of t

he P

olit

ical

Par

ties

an

d O

rgan

izat

ions

A

ct

to

incr

ease

on

the

sour

ces

of

part

y fin

anci

ng i

.e.

exte

rnal

do

nors

,

rein

stat

emen

t of

pr

esid

enti

al

te

rm

lim

its

sc

rapp

ing

arm

y re

pres

enta

tion

in p

arlia

men

t

Page 22: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

22UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

22

amon

g ot

hers

Fro

m t

he C

itiz

ens’

sur

vey,

onl

y 20

.5%

agr

eed

that

the

cur

rent

par

liam

ent

mad

e co

ntri

buti

ons

tow

ards

pro

mot

ing

dem

ocra

cy,

in t

he a

reas

of:

cont

rolli

ng t

he p

ower

of

incu

mbe

ncy

and

leve

ling

the

play

ing

field

for

all

polit

ical

ent

itie

s w

hile

33.

7% d

isag

reed

. O

nly

16%

wer

e aw

are

of a

ny

parl

iam

enta

ry in

vest

igat

ions

or

hear

ings

und

erta

ken

to e

nsur

e ef

fect

ive

func

tion

ing

of t

he e

lect

oral

com

mis

sion

in a

ddre

ssin

g re

port

ed in

effic

ienc

ies

and

mal

prac

tice

s in

the

elec

tora

l pro

cess

whi

le 3

7.2%

wer

e no

t aw

are

of t

his.

Ove

rall,

onl

y 13

.40%

of

the

resp

onde

nts

wer

e sa

tisf

ied

wit

h th

e pe

rfor

man

ce o

f th

e 9t

h pa

rlia

men

t to

war

ds s

tand

ard

3 an

d on

ele

ctor

al r

efor

ms

as

illus

trat

ed in

figu

re 1

2 be

low

. St

anda

rd 4

: Rev

iew

the

cur

rent

mec

hani

sm o

f de

term

inin

g em

olum

ents

of

MP

s to

mak

e it

tra

nspa

rent

, aff

orda

ble

and

equi

tabl

e in

rel

atio

n to

oth

er p

ubli

c se

rvan

ts’ r

emun

erat

ions

. C

onst

itut

iona

l &

ot

her

Leg

al

obli

gati

ons

of

the

inst

itut

ion

of

Par

liam

ent

T

he c

urre

nt l

egal

fra

mew

ork

unde

r w

hich

MP

s em

olum

ents

are

pai

d is

pre

mis

ed o

n A

rtic

le 8

5 (1

) of

The

Con

stit

utio

n,

whi

ch p

rovi

des

that

a M

embe

r of

Par

liam

ent

shal

l be

paid

suc

h em

olum

ents

and

suc

h gr

atui

ty a

nd s

hall

be p

rovi

ded

wit

h su

ch fa

cilit

ies

as m

ay b

e de

term

ined

by

Par

liam

ent.

P

arlia

men

t (R

emun

erat

ion

of M

embe

rs)

Act

Cap

259

als

o pr

ovid

es f

or t

he r

emun

erat

ion

of M

Ps.

Sec

tion

5 o

f th

e A

ct

perm

its

Par

liam

ent

to a

men

d th

e Sc

hedu

le t

o th

e A

ct fr

om t

ime

to t

ime.

Cit

izen

s’ a

ntic

ipat

ed a

ctio

ns f

rom

th

e 9th

Par

liam

ent

K

ey f

indi

ngs

of s

peci

fic

acti

ons

take

n by

the

9th P

arli

amen

t Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

Exp

ecta

tion

on

E

mol

umen

ts

of

MP

s

The

9th

par

liam

ent

revi

ews

the

curr

ent

mec

hani

sm

of

dete

rmin

ing

the

emol

umen

ts o

f M

Ps

and

mak

es i

t eq

uita

ble

in

rela

tion

to

othe

r pu

blic

ser

vant

s’

rem

uner

atio

ns.

Cre

ate

a tr

ansp

aren

t m

echa

nism

fo

r re

view

ing

emol

umen

ts a

nd

allo

wan

ces

of

MP

s to

av

oid

pote

ntia

l con

flict

of i

nter

ests

1. E

mol

umen

ts o

f M

Ps

A

m

otio

n to

in

trod

uce

a P

riva

te

Mem

ber’

s B

ill –

The

Par

liam

enta

ry

Pen

sion

s (A

men

dmen

t) B

ill, 2

014

T

he U

GX

120

M t

hat

was

ext

ende

d to

eac

h of

the

MP

s to

buy

car

s an

d

O

ver

UG

X 1

Bn

spen

t to

buy

I P

ads

for

MP

s ap

pare

ntly

to

save

pap

er

PO

OR

It

has

beco

me

com

mon

fo

r P

arlia

men

t to

re

view

an

d am

end

this

sc

hedu

le

to

suit

th

eir

selfi

sh in

tere

sts.

Par

liam

ent

is a

lso

the

only

arm

of

gov

ernm

ent

that

det

erm

ines

it

s ow

n sa

lari

es

and

emol

umen

ts,

ther

e by

un

derm

inin

g th

eir

own

legi

tim

acy

to q

uest

ion

oth

ers

.D

etac

h th

e O

ffice

of

M

P

from

the

indi

vidu

al t

o en

sure

co

ntin

uity

w

hen

the

MP

le

aves

of

fice,

bu

t al

so

its

effe

ctiv

enes

s w

hile

st

ill

in

offic

e.

Thi

s sh

ould

in

clud

e G

over

nmen

t ta

king

ove

r th

e pe

rcha

nce

and

man

agem

ent

of

the

offic

e,

and

rela

ted

bene

fits

such

as

of

ficia

l ve

hicl

e fo

r th

e M

P

Em

olum

ents

of

ot

her

publ

ic

serv

ants

Am

endi

ng e

xist

ing

law

and

pas

s a

new

and

fai

r la

w o

n sa

lari

es a

nd

wag

es.

E

stab

lish

a co

mpe

tent

po

licy

and

2. E

mol

umen

ts

of

othe

r pu

blic

se

rvan

ts

D

elib

erat

ions

on

th

e R

etir

emen

t B

enef

its

Sect

or

Lib

eral

izat

ion

Bill

, 20

11 o

ngoi

ng in

Par

liam

ent

N

o su

bsta

ntiv

e en

gage

men

t on

th

e

MO

DE

RA

TE

Bey

ond

lam

enti

ng

on

the

sorr

y st

ate

of

othe

r pu

blic

se

rvan

ts’

rem

uner

atio

n an

d em

olum

ents

dur

ing

the

stat

e o

the

nati

on

addr

ess,

an

d A

nnua

l B

udge

t de

bate

, no

co

ncre

te a

ctio

n ha

s be

en t

aken

L

egis

late

to

esta

blis

h a

Sala

ry

Rev

iew

Com

mis

sion

to

enab

le

the

publ

ic s

ecto

r se

t pa

ymen

t st

anda

rds

for

all p

ublic

offi

cers

an

d ci

vil s

erva

nts.

Leg

isla

te

on

esta

blis

hing

a

min

imum

w

age

for

all

Page 23: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

23

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

23

mec

hani

sm

to

unde

rtak

e H

arm

oniz

atio

n, f

airn

ess,

equ

ity

and

acco

unta

ble

prov

isio

ns w

ith

chec

ks

and

bala

nces

in

the

emol

umen

ts f

or

all

empl

oyee

s in

th

e co

untr

y (a

sa

lari

es r

evie

w c

omm

issi

on)

App

ropr

iate

bud

get

to fa

cilit

ate

the

esta

blis

hed

revi

ew m

echa

nism

and

su

bseq

uent

ly

mee

t th

e ne

wly

ha

rmon

ized

sa

lari

es,

emol

umen

ts

and

wag

es.

need

s fo

r re

view

the

sal

ary

scal

e an

d in

stit

ute

refo

rms

in c

ivil

and

publ

ic

serv

ice.

P

arlia

men

t pr

essu

red

gove

rnm

ent

to

incr

ease

sa

lari

es

of

teac

hers

an

d m

edic

al w

orke

rs b

y in

sist

ing

not

to

pass

the

sec

tor

budg

ets

if th

ey d

o no

t co

mpl

y

by

Par

liam

ent

wit

hin

its

man

date

. em

ploy

ees.

Con

solid

ate

the

on-g

oing

re

form

s in

the

pen

sion

sec

tor

thro

ugh

stre

ngth

enin

g th

e re

gula

tory

fra

mew

ork

for

the

enti

re p

ensi

on in

dust

ry

Acc

ordi

ng t

o th

e ci

tize

ns’ s

urve

y, o

nly

4% f

elt

that

par

liam

ent

was

tra

nspa

rent

in

the

dete

rmin

atio

n of

the

ir e

mol

umen

ts 1

4.3

% d

isag

reed

, an

d th

e re

st p

refe

rred

not

to

answ

er.

On

the

othe

r ha

nd,

50.4

% o

f th

e re

spon

dent

s fe

lt t

hat

parl

iam

enta

rian

s re

ceiv

ed m

ore

rem

uner

atio

n th

an t

hey

dese

rved

whi

le o

nly

35.

8% f

elt

othe

rwis

e.

O

nly

7.2%

agr

eed

that

the

MP

s em

olum

ents

wer

e fa

ir a

nd e

quit

able

in c

ompa

riso

n to

oth

ers

in t

he c

ivil

ser

vice

whi

le 1

8.6%

dis

agre

ed.

A

nd f

inal

ly, o

nly

19.6

% o

f th

e re

spon

dent

s ag

reed

tha

t th

e 9t

h pa

rlia

men

t w

as a

ccou

ntab

le f

or t

he r

esou

rces

the

y re

ceiv

e an

d sp

end

on b

ehal

f of

the

ci

tize

nry

whi

le 3

2.5%

ans

wer

ed n

egat

ive.

W

ith

over

all

perf

orm

ance

of

the

9th

Par

liam

ent,

onl

y 12

.20%

of

the

resp

onde

nts

wer

e sa

tisf

ied

her

acti

ons

tow

ards

sta

ndar

d 4

whi

le 5

5.6

insi

sted

on

thei

r di

ssat

isfa

ctio

n.

St

anda

rd 5

: B

ecom

e m

ore

acco

unta

ble

to t

heir

con

stit

uenc

ies

for

all

reso

urce

s re

ceiv

ed f

rom

the

nat

iona

l re

sour

ce e

nvel

op

incl

udin

g em

olum

ents

, and

don

atio

ns f

rom

ext

erna

l sou

rces

on

beha

lf o

f th

eir

Con

stit

uenc

y an

d th

e co

untr

y.

Con

stit

utio

nal

&

othe

r L

egal

ob

liga

tion

s of

th

e in

stit

utio

n of

P

arli

amen

t

T

he le

ader

ship

cod

e of

con

duct

est

ablis

hed

unde

r A

rtic

le 2

33 o

f the

con

stit

utio

n re

quir

es a

ll P

ublic

offi

cers

to

decl

are

thei

r in

com

es, a

sset

s an

d lia

bilit

ies

from

tim

e to

tim

e an

d ho

w t

hey

acqu

ired

the

m.

T

he L

eade

rshi

p C

ode

Act

200

2 un

der

its

seco

nd s

ched

ule

reco

gniz

es M

embe

rs o

f P

arlia

men

t as

pub

lic o

ffice

rs w

ho m

ust

acco

unt

for

thei

r re

sour

ces

and

are

subj

ecte

d to

pro

cedu

re u

nder

the

Act

. C

itiz

ens’

ant

icip

ated

act

ions

fro

m

the

9th P

arli

amen

t

Key

fin

ding

s of

spe

cifi

c ac

tion

s ta

ken

by t

he 9

th P

arli

amen

t Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

1.

Man

agem

ent

of

the

cons

olid

ated

fu

nd

and

Fin

ding

s:

In

add

itio

n to

mov

ing

a m

ovin

g a

MO

DE

RA

TE

Sect

ions

of

th

e fin

ance

bi

ll un

derm

ine

the

effe

ctiv

e

Ena

ct s

tron

g m

easu

re t

hat

tigh

ten

leak

ages

in

th

e

Page 24: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

24UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

24

acco

unta

bili

ty t

o ci

tize

ns.

A

men

d ex

isti

ng l

aws

to i

nsti

tute

co

ntro

ls a

nd r

egul

ate

man

agem

ent

of

nati

onal

tr

easu

ry

and

cons

olid

ated

fund

s.

Rej

ect

retr

ospe

ctiv

e

supp

lem

enta

ry

expe

ndit

ure

requ

ests

by

the

exec

utiv

e

T

ask

the

IGG

to

invo

lve

Cit

izen

s in

th

e pr

oces

s of

wea

lth

decl

arat

ion

by p

ublic

offi

cial

s

mot

ion

of r

esol

utio

n to

reg

ulat

e th

e oi

l se

ctor

10t

h O

ctob

er 2

011,

and

an

othe

r m

otio

n to

car

ry o

ut a

n au

dit

of t

he e

nerg

y se

ctor

on

20th

Jul

y 20

11,

MP

s re

ject

ed

budg

et

from

en

ergy

m

inis

try

on

pow

er

tari

ffs

20th

Jul

y 20

11.

T

he F

inan

ce B

ill (

Am

endm

ent)

Bill

, 20

11 w

as a

lso

unde

r co

nsid

erat

ion

by P

arlia

men

t by

the

tim

e of

thi

s A

sses

smen

t

func

tion

of

the

legi

slat

ure

in

nati

onal

fina

ncia

l con

trol

s

M

anag

emen

t an

d co

ntro

ls o

n na

tion

al

trea

sury

an

d co

nsol

idat

ed

fund

re

mai

n w

eak,

faci

litat

ing

leak

ages

C

aucu

sing

to

prot

ect

corr

upt

indi

vidu

als

by

the

rulin

g pa

rty,

ret

rosp

ecti

ve a

ppro

vals

an

d su

pple

men

tary

bu

dget

s,

and

wea

k ac

coun

tabi

lity

to

cons

titu

enci

es

has

sust

aine

d th

e m

isus

e of

pub

lic fu

nds

trea

sury

and

gua

rd a

gain

st

mis

man

agem

ent

of

publ

ic

fund

s

Cre

ate

aven

ues

thro

ugh

whi

ch t

he p

ublic

can

acc

ess

info

rmat

ion

on

vari

ous

publ

ic f

unds

and

par

liam

ent

prog

ram

s.

The

9th

P

arlia

men

t sh

ould

co

mpe

l IG

G t

o m

ake

publ

ic

the

deta

ils

of

wea

lth

decl

arat

ion

by

publ

ic

offic

ials

Sa

ncti

onin

g of

pub

lic

borr

owin

g &

de

bt c

eili

ng

T

hat

the

9th

parl

iam

ent

sanc

tion

s bo

rrow

ing

and

appr

oves

pu

blic

lo

ans

wit

hin

the

prem

ise

of t

he

law

.

E

stab

lish

crit

eria

fo

r ra

ting

ex

tern

al a

nd lo

cal b

orro

win

g.

Est

ablis

h a

sust

aina

ble

and

easy

to

ser

vice

deb

t ce

iling

to

regu

late

bo

rrow

ing.

In

stit

ute

stri

ngen

t pe

nalt

ies

agai

nst

offic

ers

invo

lved

re

spon

sibl

e fo

r un

auth

oriz

ed

borr

owin

g of

int

erna

l &

ext

erna

l lo

ans.

Con

duct

effe

ctiv

e m

onit

orin

g of

im

plem

enta

tion

of

pr

ojec

ts

on

borr

owed

loan

s to

asc

erta

in v

alue

fo

r m

oney

.

Dir

ect

mor

e bu

dget

ary

allo

cati

ons

and

borr

owed

loan

s to

Fin

ding

s:

A

Min

iste

rial

sta

tem

ent

pres

ente

d by

H

on.

Mat

ia

Kas

aija

on

lo

ans

sign

ed

wit

hout

P

arlia

men

tary

ap

prov

al.

Exc

ept

for

the

EA

C

debt

ce

iling

st

anda

rd r

equi

ring

tha

t no

mem

ber

stat

e sh

ould

bor

row

abo

ve 5

0% o

f its

G

DP

, th

ere

was

no

evid

ence

of

the

9th

parl

iam

enta

ry

acti

ons

take

n to

re

gula

te b

orro

win

g

D

iffer

ent

Par

liam

ent

com

mit

tees

co

nduc

ted

seve

ral

audi

ts

of

gove

rnm

ent

proj

ects

to

as

cert

ain

valu

e fo

r m

oney

for

loan

s.

P

arlia

men

t al

so

labo

red

to

ensu

re

that

lo

ans

wer

e ch

anne

led

to

prod

ucti

ve s

ecto

rs

GO

OD

The

9th

Par

liam

ent

is r

eluc

tant

to

av

ail

info

rmat

ion

to

the

publ

ic

rega

rdin

g pu

blic

m

anag

emen

t an

d fu

ndin

g. F

or

exam

ple,

the

pru

dent

pro

cess

es

for

loan

acq

uisi

tion

bas

ed o

n pa

rlia

men

tary

co

nsul

tati

ons

and

appr

oval

or

disc

ussi

on o

f oi

l pr

oduc

tion

sh

arin

g ag

reem

ents

in

th

e pu

blic

re

mai

ned

a ch

alle

nge.

Ir

onic

ally

, it

is t

he E

xecu

tive

in

Uga

nda

that

see

ms

to t

ake

lead

in

m

akin

g th

e pu

blic

se

ctor

op

aque

, a

situ

atio

n th

at m

akes

th

e po

pula

tion

mor

e ap

athe

tic,

se

lf-ce

nsor

ing

and

resi

gned

fr

om

part

icip

atio

n in

pu

blic

af

fair

s

Not

kee

n to

enf

orce

ela

bora

te

crit

eria

for

rat

ing

exte

rnal

and

lo

cal

borr

owin

g, a

nd f

aile

d to

in

stit

ute

stiff

pen

alti

es a

gain

st

unau

thor

ized

bo

rrow

ing

of

E

stab

lish

lega

l m

echa

nism

s to

reg

ulat

e de

bt c

eilin

g.

Inst

itut

e st

ring

ent

pena

ltie

s ag

ains

t of

ficer

s in

volv

ed

in

unau

thor

ized

bor

row

ing;

E

stab

lish

a m

echa

nism

fo

r ef

fect

ive

and

regu

lar

mon

itor

ing

and

valu

e fo

r m

oney

aud

its

for

loan

s

Page 25: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

25

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

25

8 Ibi

d A

rtic

le 9

2 (2

) 9

Art

icle

21

(2) o

f the

Uni

vers

al D

ecla

rati

on o

f Hum

an R

ight

s 19

48

10 I

bid

Art

icle

21

(2)

prod

ucti

ve

sect

ors

(Edu

cati

on,

Agr

icul

ture

, he

alth

, in

fras

truc

ture

)

inte

rnal

&

ex

tern

al

loan

s by

re

spec

tive

de

part

men

ts

of

gove

rnm

ent

Fie

ld f

indi

ngs

from

the

stu

died

pop

ulat

ions

rev

eal

that

som

e 23

.2%

of

resp

onde

nts

know

of

or h

ave

wit

ness

ed v

isit

s by

par

liam

ent

of g

over

nmen

t pr

ogra

ms

to

asce

rtai

n va

lue

for

mon

ey w

hile

41.

3% d

id n

ot.

Stan

dard

6:

Pro

tect

and

res

pect

fun

dam

enta

l ri

ghts

and

fre

edom

s of

the

cit

izen

s of

Uga

nda

incl

udin

g ri

ghts

of

asso

ciat

ion

and

expr

essi

on, b

y re

call

ing

all u

ncon

stit

utio

nal l

aws.

C

onst

itut

iona

l &

ot

her

Leg

al

obli

gati

ons

of

the

inst

itut

ion

of

Par

liam

ent

T

he t

hree

car

dina

l rol

es o

f par

liam

ent

unde

r th

e C

onst

itut

ion

of t

he R

epub

lic o

f Uga

nda

are;

legi

slat

ive,

rep

rese

ntat

ive

and

over

sigh

t. In

the

ena

ctm

ent

of l

aws

Par

liam

ent

mus

t be

min

dful

of

the

Con

stit

utio

nal

safe

guar

ds o

n fu

ndam

enta

l ri

ghts

an

d fr

eedo

ms

of U

gand

ans.

In

the

perf

orm

ance

of

thei

r le

gisl

ativ

e fu

ncti

on,

par

liam

enta

rian

s m

ust

be m

indf

ul t

hat

the

Con

stit

utio

n re

mai

ns t

he

supr

eme

law

of t

he C

ount

ry a

nd if

any

ena

ctm

ent

of a

ny la

w o

r an

y cu

stom

is

inco

nsis

tent

wit

h an

y of

the

pro

visi

ons

of

the

Con

stit

utio

n, t

he C

onst

itut

ion

shal

l pr

evai

l, an

d th

at o

ther

law

or

cust

om s

hall,

to

the

exte

nt o

f th

e in

cons

iste

ncy,

be

void

.8

E

very

law

sho

uld

be s

ubje

cted

to

the

Bill

of

righ

ts u

nder

cha

pter

fou

r of

the

Con

stit

utio

n w

hich

set

s co

mpr

ehen

sive

st

anda

rds

upon

whi

ch fu

ndam

enta

l rig

hts

and

free

dom

s sh

ould

be

prot

ecte

d, r

espe

cted

and

uph

eld.

In t

he s

ame

vein

, Art

icle

248

whi

ch e

stab

lishe

s th

e L

aw R

efor

m C

omm

issi

on a

lso

man

date

s it

to

subm

it a

nnua

l rep

orts

to

Par

liam

ent.

Such

rep

orts

sho

uld

info

rm p

arlia

men

t as

to

whi

ch l

aws

need

ref

orm

s, a

men

dmen

ts o

r re

peal

to

suit

cur

rent

de

moc

rati

c no

rms

and

prin

cipl

es.

T

he A

fric

an C

hart

er o

n H

uman

and

Peo

ples

Rig

hts

1981

pro

vide

s un

der

Art

icle

13

that

“ev

ery

citi

zen

shal

l hav

e th

e ri

ght

to p

arti

cipa

te f

reel

y in

the

affa

irs

of t

he g

over

nmen

t of

her

/his

cou

ntry

eit

her

dire

ctly

or

thro

ugh

free

ly c

hose

n re

pres

enta

tive

s in

acc

orda

nce

wit

h th

e pr

ovis

ions

of t

he la

w.

Si

mila

r ex

pres

sion

s ar

e fo

und

in t

he A

fric

an C

hart

er o

n D

emoc

racy

, Ele

ctio

ns a

nd G

over

nanc

e.

A

t th

e in

tern

atio

nal l

evel

, the

Uni

vers

al D

ecla

rati

on o

f Hum

an R

ight

s 19

48 (U

DH

R) p

rovi

des

that

eve

ryon

e ha

s th

e ri

ght

to t

ake

part

in t

he g

over

nmen

t of

his

cou

ntry

dir

ectl

y or

thr

ough

free

ly e

lect

ed r

epre

sent

ativ

es.9

It

furt

her

prov

ides

for

the

mea

ns t

hrou

gh w

hich

cit

izen

s ca

n ex

pres

s th

eir

will

.10 T

he a

bove

pro

visi

ons

are

codi

fied

by A

rtic

les

25 (1

) (a)

and

(b) o

f the

In

tern

atio

nal C

oven

ant

on C

ivil

and

Pol

itic

al R

ight

s (I

CC

PR

).

In

lig

ht o

f th

e ab

ove

prov

isio

ns,

the

wis

hes

and

dem

ands

of

the

citi

zens

to

thei

r du

ly e

lect

ed r

epre

sent

ativ

es a

re w

ell

foun

ded

sinc

e it

is a

n av

enue

thr

ough

whi

ch t

hey

can

fully

par

tici

pate

in t

he a

ffair

s of

gov

ernm

ent.

Cit

izen

s’ a

ntic

ipat

ed a

ctio

ns f

rom

th

e 9th

Par

liam

ent

K

ey f

indi

ngs

of s

peci

fic

acti

ons

take

n by

the

9th P

arli

amen

t Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

Ibi

d A

rtic

le 9

2 (2

) A

rtic

le 2

1 (2

) of

the

Uni

vers

al D

ecla

rati

on o

f H

uman

Rig

hts

1948

Ibid

Art

icle

21

(2)

8 9 10

Page 26: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

26UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

26

Uph

oldi

ng

hum

an

righ

ts

stan

dard

s by

par

liam

ent.

Est

ablis

h a

hum

an

righ

ts

com

mit

tee

of p

arlia

men

t.

M

ake

reso

luti

ons

and

dire

ctiv

es

base

d on

th

e U

gand

a H

uman

R

ight

s C

omm

issi

on r

epor

ts

Fin

ding

s:

A

Hum

an R

ight

s C

heck

list

adop

ted

in 2

013

for

Par

liam

ent

to f

ollo

w a

s a

guid

e in

ord

er t

o up

hold

hum

an

righ

ts s

tand

ards

and

pri

ncip

les

in

the

pass

ing

of la

ws.

A

stan

ding

H

uman

R

ight

s C

omm

itte

e w

as e

stab

lishe

d an

d in

pl

ace

for

the

first

tim

e, u

nder

the

9th

pa

rlia

men

t.

Mot

ion

to

intr

oduc

e a

priv

ate

mem

bers

bi

ll on

L

aw

Rev

isio

n (P

enal

ties

in

cr

imin

al

mat

ters

) M

isce

llane

ous

Am

endm

ent

Bill

, 20

13

T

he N

atio

nal

Cou

ncil

for

Dis

abili

ty

(am

endm

ent)

Act

201

3 pa

ssed

Tra

nsfe

r of

Con

vict

ed O

ffend

ers

Act

pa

ssed

GO

OD

The

9t

h pa

rlia

men

t hi

ghly

co

ntra

dict

ed

its

self

by

imm

edia

tely

pas

sing

the

hig

hly

cont

rove

rsia

l P

ublic

O

rder

M

anag

emen

t A

ct

one

mon

th

afte

r de

velo

ping

th

e H

uman

R

ight

s C

heck

list

.

T

he

9th

Par

liam

ent

has

been

se

en t

o pa

ss s

ome

bills

whi

ch

dire

ctly

an

d in

dire

ctly

in

hibi

t fu

ndam

enta

l ri

ghts

an

d fr

eedo

ms

of t

he c

itiz

ens;

cov

ert

law

s lik

e th

e A

nti-

hom

osex

ualit

y A

ct

and

the

Ant

i-po

rnog

raph

y A

ct

that

co

uld

be u

sed

by t

he r

egim

e to

in

itia

te

tram

ped

up

char

ges

agai

nst

its

oppo

nent

s.

T

he

9th

Par

liam

ent

shou

ld

revi

ew a

ll th

e un

cons

titu

tion

al

law

s on

com

plia

nce

wit

h th

e N

atio

nal

Con

stit

utio

n,

and

appl

y th

e hu

man

ri

ghts

ch

eckl

ist.i

e

R

epea

l th

e un

cons

titu

tion

al

sect

ions

of

th

e th

e P

ublic

O

rder

M

anag

emen

t A

ct

(PO

MA

)

R

evie

w t

h e s

ecti

ons

in

the

Pen

al

Cod

e (a

s id

enti

fied

in

this

rep

ort)

to

harm

oniz

e it

s cu

rren

t co

ntro

vers

ial

and

obso

lete

leg

al p

rovi

sion

s w

ith

the

Nat

iona

l con

stit

utio

n

Stri

ngen

t ac

tion

s on

hum

an r

ight

s vi

olat

ors

A

men

d C

onst

itut

ion

and

othe

r ex

isti

ng l

aws

to s

tren

gthe

n th

e m

echa

nism

for

bri

ngin

g H

uman

R

ight

s pe

rpet

rato

rs

of

hum

an

righ

ts a

buse

and

vio

lati

ons,

Sa

ncti

on

resp

ecti

ve

min

iste

rs

and

head

s of

lea

ding

offe

ndin

g in

stit

utio

ns

to

expl

ain

and

addr

ess

the

repo

rted

hu

man

ri

ghts

vio

lati

ons

Fin

ding

s:

T

wo

Act

s pa

ssed

i.e

. the

Pre

vent

ion

and

Pro

hibi

tion

of

T

ortu

re

bill,

20

10,

and

the

Ant

i-H

uman

Tra

ffic

Act

201

3

T

wo

repo

rts

disc

usse

d i.e

. Rep

ort

on

the

Pet

itio

n of

Uga

ndan

wom

en w

ho

wer

e ta

ken

to

wor

k in

Ir

aq,

and

repo

rt o

n th

e P

etit

ion

of t

raffi

ckin

g of

w

omen

an

d se

xual

sl

aver

y in

U

nite

d A

rab

Em

irat

es,

Indi

a an

d C

hina

GO

OD

Mar

riag

e an

d D

ivor

ce

Bill

sh

elve

d af

ter

heat

ed

disc

ussi

ons

leav

ing

room

for

ke

y hu

man

rig

hts

issu

es l

ike

sexu

al a

nd d

omes

tic

viol

ence

to

go

unab

ated

NG

O

Am

endm

ent

Act

20

06

that

po

tent

ially

im

pede

s op

erat

ions

of

N

GO

s st

ill

in

forc

e

Inad

equa

te

mon

itor

ing

of

impl

emen

tati

on

of

law

s lik

e th

e P

reve

ntio

n an

d P

rohi

biti

on

of

Tor

ture

B

ill

2010

A

ct o

n th

e re

port

s of

UH

RC

an

d in

crea

se t

heir

bud

get.

R

evie

w t

he N

GO

Am

endm

ent

Act

200

6, t

o ha

rmon

ize

it w

ith

the

NG

O

Pol

icy

the

cons

titu

tion

Pea

ce &

tra

nsit

iona

l jus

tice

Pas

s re

solu

tion

s to

ap

prov

e na

tion

al p

eace

an

d re

conc

iliat

ion

polic

y an

d m

ake

leg

isla

tion

s on

tr

ansi

tion

al j

usti

ce t

o ad

dres

s H

R

abus

es,

Fin

ding

s:

M

otio

ns

on

com

pens

atio

n an

d re

sett

lem

ent

of t

he w

omen

affe

cted

by

the

pro

pose

d go

vern

men

t pl

an

for

the

cons

truc

tion

of

th

e oi

l re

finer

y in

Bus

eruk

a H

oim

a, a

s w

ell

as o

ne o

n th

e pl

ight

of

the

form

erly

MO

DE

RA

TE

No

evid

ence

of

th

e L

aw

pass

ed

on

man

dato

ry

tran

siti

onal

just

ice.

N

o ev

iden

ce

of

appr

oved

po

licy

to

guid

e th

e im

plem

enta

tion

of t

rans

itio

nal

Su

ppor

t an

d fa

cilit

ate

Min

istr

y of

Ju

stic

e an

d C

onst

itut

iona

l A

ffair

s to

ha

ndle

m

atte

rs

of

tran

siti

onal

just

ice.

Pas

s a

parl

iam

enta

ry

Page 27: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

27

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

27

In

crea

se

budg

et

of

min

istr

y of

ju

stic

e to

pa

y co

mpe

nsat

ion/

repa

rati

ons

to p

ast

vict

ims

or

surv

ivor

s of

hu

man

ri

ghts

abu

ses.

abdu

cted

ch

ildre

n an

d pe

rson

s af

fect

ed

by

the

Lor

d’s

Res

ista

nce

Arm

y

Q

uest

ions

ra

ised

on

gove

rnm

ent

com

pens

atio

n pl

ans

for

the

peop

le o

f T

eso

for

thei

r an

imal

s’

stol

en

Dur

ing

the

UP

A a

nd K

ony

war

s,

and

on v

icti

ms

of t

he r

evol

utio

nary

fr

eedo

m f

ight

ers

of U

gand

a 19

71 –

19

85 M

asin

di P

ort

just

ice.

re

solu

tion

di

rect

ing

gove

rnm

ent

to in

itia

te a

law

an

d po

licy

on

tran

siti

onal

ju

stic

e.

1.

The

fiel

d fin

ding

s fr

om t

he s

tudi

ed p

opul

atio

ns r

evea

l tha

t on

ly 4

7.7%

of t

he r

espo

nden

ts fe

lt t

hat

the

free

dom

to

asso

ciat

e, a

ssem

bly,

opi

nion

s an

d m

ovem

ent

had

impr

oved

whi

le 5

6.1%

dis

agre

ed.

2.

In a

ddit

ion,

onl

y 26

% o

f th

e re

spon

dent

s fe

lt t

hat

the

9th

parl

iam

ent

had

done

eno

ugh

to a

ddre

ss t

he r

epor

ted

diffi

cult

ies

face

d by

the

cit

izen

org

aniz

atio

ns l

ike

arre

sts,

har

assm

ent

and

inti

mid

atio

n as

the

y pe

rfor

med

the

ir d

utie

s w

hile

37%

of t

he r

espo

nden

ts fe

lt o

ther

wis

e

3.

Ove

rall,

onl

y 8.

60%

of t

he s

tudi

ed p

opul

atio

n w

as s

atis

fied

wit

h th

e pe

rfor

man

ce o

f the

9th

Par

liam

ent

tow

ards

sta

ndar

d si

x, t

his

is il

lust

rate

d by

figu

re 9

bel

ow.

St

anda

rd 7

: Dec

isiv

ely

chec

k ex

ecut

ive

exce

sses

and

tac

kle

the

fina

ncia

l ind

isci

plin

e of

the

exe

cuti

ve in

pub

lic

inte

rest

C

onst

itut

iona

l &

ot

her

Leg

al

obli

gati

ons

of

the

inst

itut

ion

of

Par

liam

ent

T

he 1

995

Con

stit

utio

n of

the

Rep

ublic

of U

gand

a pr

ovid

es t

hat

all p

ublic

res

ourc

es s

hall

be h

eld

in t

rust

for

the

peop

le. A

ll pe

rson

s in

pos

itio

ns o

f lea

ders

hip

and

resp

onsi

bilit

y sh

all,

in t

heir

wor

k, b

e an

swer

able

to

the

peop

le.

All

law

ful m

easu

res

shal

l be

tak

en t

o ex

pose

, com

bat

and

erad

icat

e co

rrup

tion

and

abu

se o

r m

isus

e of

pow

er b

y th

ose

hold

ing

polit

ical

and

ot

her

publ

ic o

ffice

s. P

arlia

men

t of

Uga

nda

play

s a

very

im

port

ant

role

in

mat

ters

of

man

agem

ent

and

cont

rol

of P

ublic

F

inan

ces.

T

he b

udge

t an

d ex

pend

itur

e of

pub

lic fu

nds

by t

he N

atio

nal G

over

nmen

t is

sub

ject

to

auth

oriz

atio

n, a

ppro

val a

nd c

ontr

ol

by t

he P

arlia

men

t. T

his

role

is a

lway

s pl

ayed

thr

ough

the

diff

eren

t co

mm

itte

es t

hat

are

set

up in

par

liam

ent.

The

se in

clud

e St

andi

ng c

omm

itte

es a

nd s

essi

on c

omm

itte

es. T

he c

omm

itte

es a

re g

iven

var

ious

rol

es in

clud

ing

revi

ewin

g fo

r pu

rpos

es o

f ap

prov

al o

f re

port

s fr

om g

over

nmen

t de

part

men

ts a

nd m

inis

trie

s lik

e th

e U

gand

a H

uman

Rig

hts

Com

mis

sion

, Uga

nda

Pol

ice

For

ce, U

gand

a P

eopl

es D

efen

ce F

orce

s, U

gand

a R

even

ue A

utho

rity

, Pub

lic S

ervi

ce

Acc

ordi

ng t

o A

rtic

le 9

0 (4

) of

the

Con

stit

utio

n; in

the

exe

rcis

e of

the

ir fu

ncti

ons

com

mit

tees

of P

arlia

men

t—am

ong

othe

r du

ties

may

cal

l an

y M

inis

ter

or a

ny p

erso

n ho

ldin

g pu

blic

offi

ce a

nd p

riva

te i

ndiv

idua

ls t

o su

bmit

mem

oran

da o

r ap

pear

be

fore

the

m t

o gi

ve

Cit

izen

s’ a

ntic

ipat

ed a

ctio

ns f

rom

th

e 9th

Par

liam

ent

K

ey f

indi

ngs

of s

peci

fic

acti

ons

take

n by

the

9th P

arli

amen

t Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

Page 28: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

28UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

28

Fin

anci

al e

xces

s

C

ontr

ol

grow

ing

lavi

sh

and

was

tefu

l ex

pend

itur

e of

st

ate

hous

e an

d m

inis

trie

s.

Reg

ulat

e an

d m

onit

or p

erfo

rman

ce

on

budg

et

disc

iplin

e of

th

e ex

ecut

ive

and

part

icul

arly

on

co

ntin

ued

failu

re t

o liv

e w

ithi

n th

e ag

reed

bud

get

allo

cati

ons.

A

men

d ex

isti

ng

law

s to

ch

eck,

st

reng

then

an

d ti

ghte

n fin

anci

al

leak

ages

an

d

exce

sses

of

th

e ex

ecut

ive

Fin

ding

s:

T

he F

inan

ce A

ct 2

006

(Am

endm

ent)

A

ct,

2012

,

and

the

App

ropr

iati

ons

Act

, 201

3 pa

ssed

B

ills

unde

r co

nsid

erat

ion

incl

uded

the

F

inan

ce

Bill

, 20

13,

and

the

Supp

lem

enta

ry

App

ropr

iati

ons

bill,

20

13

Se

vera

l m

inis

ters

an

d he

ads

of

depa

rtm

ents

, ins

titu

tion

s, a

nd a

genc

ies

wer

e su

mm

oned

in

orde

r to

acc

ount

i.e

. of

ficia

ls

from

O

PM

, M

inis

ters

ac

cuse

d of

oi

l br

ibes

, th

e G

over

nor

BO

U e

tc.

P

arlia

men

tary

Com

mit

tee

on F

inan

ce

to

over

see

the

perf

orm

ance

of

th

e M

inis

try

of

Fin

ance

, P

lann

ing

and

Eco

nom

ic D

evel

opm

ent

was

set

up.

P

ublic

Acc

ount

s C

omm

itte

e co

ntin

ued

to p

lay

a vi

sibl

e ro

le a

nd l

ooke

d in

to

the

expe

ndit

ures

of d

iffer

ent

min

istr

ies

and

publ

ic o

ffici

als

MO

DE

RA

TE

The

new

Fin

ance

Bill

see

ms

to

pay

less

att

enti

on t

o th

e ro

le o

f th

e P

arlia

men

t in

pu

blic

fin

anci

al

man

agem

ent

and

part

icip

atio

n of

sta

keho

lder

s in

th

e bu

dget

pro

cess

.

T

he 9

th P

arlia

men

t ha

s fa

iled

to

inst

itut

e st

iff

pena

ltie

s on

th

e ac

cuse

d co

rrup

t of

ficia

ls;

Cas

es o

f m

inis

ters

cla

imin

g to

ha

ve

step

ped

asid

e fo

r in

vest

igat

ions

ha

ve

flopp

ed

as

they

sti

ll un

dert

ake

thei

r du

ties

ev

en w

hen

clai

min

g to

be

off

duty

.

T

he s

tate

hou

se e

xpen

ditu

re h

as

cont

inue

d to

gro

w l

avis

hly

and

was

tefu

lly.

P

arlia

men

t ha

s fa

iled

to s

pear

-he

ad

publ

ic

inte

rest

lit

igat

ion

agai

nst

exce

sses

of t

he e

xecu

tive

e.

g.

whe

n go

vern

men

t to

ok

mon

ey

from

co

nsol

idat

ed

fund

w

itho

ut a

ppro

val

of p

arlia

men

t to

pay

don

ors

for

PR

DP

fun

ds

stol

en b

y in

terd

icte

d of

ficia

ls.

T

he

Exe

cuti

ve

has

used

th

e N

RM

P

arty

ca

ucus

to

un

derm

ine

the

parl

iam

enta

ry

deci

sion

s re

gard

ing

finan

cial

ap

prop

riat

ions

and

man

agem

ent

and

curb

ing

the

culp

rits

of

such

ca

ses.

M

embe

rs

of

Par

liam

ent

have

al

so

been

ac

cuse

d of

ta

king

br

ibes

whi

ch c

asts

dou

bt o

n th

e in

depe

nden

ce o

f P

arlia

men

t an

d un

derm

ines

it

s in

tegr

ity

to

D

esis

t fr

om

mak

ing

retr

ogre

ssiv

e ap

prov

als

of

publ

ic e

xpen

ditu

re d

ecis

ions

.

A

men

d th

e la

w t

o m

ake

the

spea

ker

of

Par

liam

ent

an

inde

pend

ent

one

who

sho

uld

not

be

an

elec

ted

MP

or

m

embe

r of

any

pol

itic

al p

arty

.

A

men

d C

laus

e 21

(6)

of

the

Pub

lic F

inan

ce B

ill,

2012

on

supp

lem

enta

ry b

udge

t to

sta

te

that

al

l su

pple

men

tary

sp

endi

ng

is

appr

oved

by

P

arlia

men

t, an

d to

rem

ove

the

prov

isio

n fo

r re

tros

pect

ive

appr

oval

of

su

pple

men

tary

sp

endi

ng.

Pub

licis

e bu

dget

ary

proc

esse

s an

d in

sist

on

tran

spar

ency

and

pu

blic

pa

rtic

ipat

ion

in

the

budg

et

proc

ess

in

orde

r to

m

axim

ize

peop

le-c

entr

ed

outc

omes

.

In

stit

ute

and

toug

hen

on

impl

emen

tati

on

of

pena

ltie

s fo

r fin

anci

al

mis

man

agem

ent

by

the

exec

utiv

e an

d pu

blic

se

rvan

ts

R

epea

l A

rtic

le 1

56(2

) o

f t

he

1995

Uga

nda

Con

stit

utio

n w

hich

pro

vide

s r

etro

spec

tive

ap

prov

al

of

supp

lem

enta

ry

expe

ndit

ure

as

it

faci

litat

es

impu

nity

an

d go

vern

men

t ex

cess

es.

Page 29: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

29

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

29

chec

k ex

cess

es o

f the

exe

cuti

ve

Pol

itic

al

and

adm

inis

trat

ive

exce

sses

Cen

sure

and

or

redu

ce b

udge

ts t

o le

adin

g of

fend

ing

min

iste

rs

and

head

of

inst

itut

ion

who

ove

r st

ep

thei

r co

nsti

tuti

onal

an

d le

gal

pow

ers,

In

vest

igat

e an

d Im

peac

h th

e H

ead

of

Stat

e if

foun

d cu

lpab

le

for

polit

ical

an

d hu

man

ri

ghts

ex

cess

es o

f his

gov

ernm

ent.

Pun

ish

thos

e no

tori

ous

for

repe

ated

fin

anci

al

indi

scip

line

or

thos

e w

ho

are

resp

onsi

ble

for

caus

ing

finan

cial

lo

se

to

gove

rnm

ent.

P

arlia

men

t pa

sses

re

solu

tion

s di

rect

ing

the

exec

utiv

e to

inc

reas

e bu

dget

s to

in

spec

tora

te

and

inve

stig

ativ

e de

part

men

ts

and

agen

cies

to

effe

ctiv

ely

mon

itor

the

ex

cess

es o

f gov

ernm

ent

Sp

earh

ead

publ

ic in

tere

st li

tiga

tion

ag

ains

t ex

cess

es o

f the

exe

cuti

ve

Fin

ding

s:

Se

vera

l is

sues

th

at

requ

ired

P

arlia

men

t’s a

ctio

n w

ere

pres

ente

d by

Mem

bers

of P

arlia

men

t in

clud

ed:

the

Fre

ezin

g of

the

N

ubia

n G

roup

A

ccou

nts,

irre

gula

r al

loca

tion

of

la

nd in

Tes

o, t

he p

endi

ng e

vict

ion

of

resi

dent

s of

Got

Apw

oyo

Vill

age

in

Nw

oya

Dis

tric

t, m

atte

rs p

erta

inin

g to

th

e m

ism

anag

emen

t of

K

CC

A,

clos

ure

of

Pri

mar

y T

each

ers

Tra

inin

g C

olle

ges

and

on

the

lega

lity

of t

he a

gree

men

t ap

poin

ting

E

asy

Bus

as

agen

ts t

o op

erat

e th

e bu

s se

rvic

es

in

Kam

pala

M

etro

polit

an a

rea

by t

he K

ampa

la

Cap

ital

Cit

y A

utho

rity

P

arlia

men

t al

so r

ecei

ved

resp

onse

s fr

om M

inis

ters

suc

h as

: a s

tate

men

t on

the

arr

est

of D

r. K

iiza

Bes

igye

by

Hon

. H

ilary

One

k, a

sta

tem

ent

by

Hon

. K

abak

umba

M

asik

o on

al

lega

tion

s of

sto

len

UB

C e

quip

men

t th

at w

ere

foun

d at

her

rad

io s

tati

on,

and

a st

atem

ent

on

unfu

lfille

d pl

edge

s by

th

e go

vern

men

t pr

esen

ted

by t

he

first

dep

uty

Pri

me

Min

iste

r an

d de

puty

L

eade

r of

G

over

nmen

t B

usin

ess

Rt.

Hon

. M

oses

Ali

MO

DE

RA

TE

T

he 9

th P

arlia

men

t ha

s fa

iled

to

chec

k po

litic

al a

nd a

dmin

istr

ativ

e ex

cess

es o

f th

e ex

ecut

ive

in t

he

follo

win

g ar

eas:

In

crea

ting

di

stri

cts

wit

hout

fo

llow

ing

the

cons

titu

tion

al

orde

r.

E

xces

sive

use

of t

he in

stru

men

ts

of c

oerc

ion

such

as

polic

e, t

he

UP

DF

, tea

r ga

s an

d ha

rass

men

t on

mem

bers

of

the

oppo

siti

on

and

on o

rdin

ary

citi

zens

dur

ing

by e

lect

ions

U

se o

f tax

pay

ers’

mon

ey t

o ru

n N

RM

Par

ty a

ctiv

itie

s lik

e N

RM

ca

ucus

m

eeti

ngs,

N

RM

R

etre

ats,

N

atio

nal

Con

fere

nce

and

NE

C M

eeti

ngs,

and

use

of

gove

rnm

ent

med

ia U

se o

f pub

lic

med

ia

like

UB

C

to

cove

r th

e N

RM

par

ty b

y ov

er 8

0% w

hile

de

nyin

g th

e op

posi

tion

spa

ce.

The

un

nece

ssar

y cr

eati

on

of

polit

ical

job

s su

ch a

s nu

mer

ous

pres

iden

tial

adv

isor

s, R

DC

s, a

nd

thei

r ov

erbe

arin

g ac

tivi

ties

lik

e in

terf

eren

ce

in

land

co

nflic

ts,

and

publ

ic m

eeti

ngs.

T

he 9

th P

arlia

men

t th

roug

h pr

omot

iona

l de

moc

racy

sh

ould

st

reng

then

pu

blic

in

stit

utio

ns

of

just

ice

to

prot

ect

citi

zens

as

th

ey

exer

cise

th

eir

dem

ocra

tic

righ

ts.

In

addi

tion

pu

blic

of

ficer

s w

ho

abus

e th

eir

polit

ical

of

fices

an

d su

ppre

ss

dem

ocra

tic

proc

esse

s sh

ould

be

sa

ncti

oned

or

reca

lled

by

Par

liam

ent

Page 30: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

30UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

30

11 S

ee S

ecti

on 8

8 of

the

Loc

al G

over

nmen

t A

ct 1

997

as a

men

ded

Inte

rfer

ence

in

th

e pa

rlia

men

tary

pr

oces

s th

roug

h su

bjec

tive

ca

ucus

ing,

an

d pr

otec

tion

of

susp

ecte

d co

rrup

t pu

blic

offi

cers

Fie

ld fi

ndin

gs fr

om t

he c

itiz

ens’

sur

vey

reve

al t

hat

only

18.

6% o

f stu

died

res

pond

ents

thi

nk t

hat

Par

liam

ent

is d

oing

eno

ugh

to r

egul

ate

the

exce

sses

of t

he e

xecu

tive

w

hile

34.

4% d

o no

t th

ink

so.

Ove

r al

l, on

ly 8

% w

ere

sati

sfie

d w

ith

the

perf

orm

ance

of t

he 9

th p

arlia

men

t to

war

ds s

tand

ard

7 as

sho

wn

in fi

gure

six

.

Stan

dard

8:

Dec

isiv

ely

figh

t co

rrup

tion

and

pub

lic

reso

urce

abu

se b

y ac

ting

on

repo

rts

from

sta

tuto

ry i

nsti

tuti

ons

and

com

mis

sion

s on

pub

lic

expe

ndit

ure

and

man

agem

ent

and

supp

orti

ng a

nti-

corr

upti

on a

genc

ies

in t

he f

ight

aga

inst

cor

rupt

ion

Con

stit

utio

nal

&

othe

r L

egal

ob

liga

tion

s of

th

e in

stit

utio

n of

Par

liam

ent

A

ccor

ding

to

Art

icle

90

(4)

of t

he C

onst

itut

ion;

in t

he e

xerc

ise

of t

heir

fun

ctio

ns u

nder

thi

s ar

ticl

e, c

omm

itte

es o

f P

arlia

men

t am

ong

othe

r w

ays

may

cal

l any

Min

iste

r or

any

per

son

hold

ing

publ

ic o

ffice

and

pri

vate

indi

vidu

als

to s

ubm

it m

emor

anda

or

appe

ar b

efor

e th

em t

o gi

ve

evid

ence

The

inst

itut

ion

of t

he O

ffice

of t

he A

udit

or-G

ener

al is

cre

ated

by

the

Con

stit

utio

n an

d th

e N

atio

nal

Aud

it A

ct 2

008

to a

ct o

n be

half

of t

he

citi

zens

of U

gand

a, in

pro

vidi

ng a

n in

depe

nden

t as

sura

nce

on t

he u

se o

f pub

lic r

esou

rces

(Art

icle

163

of t

he C

onst

itut

ion.

Exp

endi

ture

rep

orts

fro

m g

over

nmen

t de

part

men

ts i

nclu

ding

Loc

al G

over

nmen

t11a

re a

udit

ed b

y th

e A

udit

or-G

ener

al a

nd t

able

d in

P

arlia

men

t. T

he a

ccou

ntab

ility

cyc

le e

nds

in P

arlia

men

t w

ith

the

revi

ew o

f the

Pub

lic A

ccou

nts

and

the

Aud

itor

-Gen

eral

's R

epor

ts

Cit

izen

s’ a

ntic

ipat

ed a

ctio

ns f

rom

th

e 9th

Par

liam

ent

K

ey f

indi

ngs

of s

peci

fic

acti

ons

take

n by

the

9th P

arli

amen

t Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

See

Sect

ion

88 o

f th

e L

ocal

Gov

ernm

ent

Act

199

7 as

am

ende

d11

Page 31: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

31

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

31

Cit

izen

E

xpec

tati

ons

Par

liam

enta

ry

Act

ions

to

fi

ght

corr

upti

on

A

men

d ex

isti

ng

legi

slat

ion

to

stre

ngth

en

inve

stig

atio

ns

and

reco

very

of

mis

sing

ass

ets

and

fund

s

P

ass

parl

iam

enta

ry r

esol

utio

ns

that

res

ult

into

mor

e ri

goro

us

inve

stig

atio

ns

by

PA

C

and

parl

iam

enta

ry c

omm

itte

es.

Sum

mon

and

pub

licly

que

stio

n re

spec

tive

min

iste

rs

and

head

s of

cor

rupt

ion

ridd

en in

stit

utio

ns

in

orde

r to

hold

th

em

acco

unta

ble,

and

Cen

sure

the

n if

foun

d cu

lpab

le

Fin

ding

s:

T

able

d a

mot

ion

to in

trod

uce

a P

riva

te

Mem

ber’

s B

ill –

The

Ant

i-C

orru

ptio

n (A

men

dmen

t) B

ill, 2

012

The

9th

Par

liam

ent

has

in p

lace

vib

rant

co

mm

itte

es

i.e.

PA

C,

CO

SASE

an

d L

ocal

G

over

nmen

t’s

Acc

ount

s C

omm

itte

e

P

AC

in

terr

ogat

ed

publ

ic

offic

ials

, co

ntri

buti

ng t

o pr

osec

utio

n of

pub

lic

offic

ials

fo

und

culp

able

in

di

ffere

nt

audi

ts

such

as

in

th

e O

ffice

of

th

e P

rim

e M

inis

ter,

M

inis

try

of

Pub

lic

Serv

ice

amon

g ot

hers

T

he 9

th P

arlia

men

t al

so m

aint

ains

the

A

fric

an

Par

liam

enta

rian

s N

etw

ork

agai

nst

Cor

rupt

ion

(AP

NA

C)

that

aim

s at

con

trol

ling

corr

upti

on.

GO

OD

Fai

lure

to

conc

rete

ly d

eal

wit

h so

me

pow

erfu

l pu

blic

of

ficia

ls

such

as

Per

man

ent

Secr

etar

ies

and

Min

iste

rs

impl

icat

ed

in

corr

upti

on

scan

dals

. T

hese

in

clud

e th

e fo

rmer

PS

of O

PM

, an

d M

inis

ters

im

plic

ated

in

oil

brib

ery

scan

dals

.

No

law

to

enab

le c

itiz

ens,

civ

ic

asso

ciat

ions

an

d lo

cal

auth

orit

ies

to

part

icip

ate

in

mon

itor

ing

the

cent

rally

aw

arde

d co

ntra

cts.

Se

vera

l al

lega

tion

s ha

ve

been

m

ade

abou

t a

num

ber

of M

Ps

for

enga

gem

ent

in

corr

upti

on

rela

ted

acti

viti

es a

nd r

ecei

ving

br

ibes

, in

clud

ing

from

th

e ex

ecut

ive

C

ompe

l th

e E

xecu

tive

to

fu

lly e

nfor

ce s

ecti

on 6

3 of

the

A

nti-

Cor

rupt

ion

Act

2

009

re

lati

ng t

o co

nfis

cati

on a

nd

full

reco

very

of

as

sets

an

d m

onie

s lo

st

to

corr

upti

on

annu

ally

. T

his

will

m

ake

corr

upti

on a

ris

ky v

entu

re t

o en

gage

in.

Inst

itut

e ne

w

or

amen

d ex

isti

ng a

nt-c

orru

ptio

n la

ws

to

enab

le

citi

zens

, ci

vic

asso

ciat

ions

an

d lo

cal

auth

orit

ies

to

part

icip

ate

in

mon

itor

ing

the

cent

rally

aw

arde

d co

ntra

cts.

T

he

9th

parl

iam

ent

shou

ld

also

act

as

an e

xem

plar

y ar

m

of

gove

rnm

ent

by

brin

ging

M

Ps

alle

ged

to h

ave

take

n br

ibes

, in

clud

ing

from

th

e ex

ecut

ive

to b

ook.

su

ppor

t to

oth

er a

nti-

corr

upti

on

agen

cies

Pas

s pa

rlia

men

tary

res

olut

ions

th

at r

esul

t in

to m

ore

rigo

rous

in

vest

igat

ions

by

ot

her

inst

itut

ions

lik

e th

e IG

G,

Aud

itor

G

ener

al,

DP

P,

and

Pol

ice

R

evie

w

and

allo

cate

in

crea

sed

budg

ets

to I

GG

, P

olic

e, D

PP

, an

d A

udit

or G

ener

al O

ffice

s.

Fin

ding

s:

T

hree

law

s pa

ssed

; th

e A

nti-

Mon

ey

Lau

nder

ing

Act

,

the

Acc

ount

ants

(A

men

dmen

t) A

ct 2

012;

and

the

Ant

i-C

ount

erfe

itin

g G

oods

B

ill

No .

22

, 20

10,

T

wo

bills

un

der

cons

ider

atio

n;

the

Ant

i-C

orru

ptio

n (A

men

dmen

t)

Bill

, 20

13,

the

Uga

nda

Nat

iona

l B

urea

u of

St

anda

rds

(Am

endm

ent)

B

ill

No.

10

, 20

10

EX

CE

LL

EN

T

C

orru

ptio

n co

ntin

ues

to p

ersi

st

even

in

the

pres

ence

of

a le

gal

fram

ewor

k an

d th

e A

nti-

corr

upti

on la

ws.

The

9t

h pa

rlia

men

t ha

s no

t ad

equa

tely

in

crea

sed

budg

et

allo

cati

on t

o fa

cilit

ate

anti

-gra

ft

inst

itut

ions

su

ch

as

IGG

, P

olic

e,

DP

P,

and

Aud

itor

G

ener

al o

ffice

E

xten

sive

ly

enga

ge

othe

r ar

ms

of g

over

nmen

t lik

e th

e po

lice,

th

e C

rim

inal

In

vest

igat

ions

D

epar

tmen

t, In

tern

al

Secu

rity

O

rgan

izat

ions

or

ev

en

thro

ugh

appe

als

to t

he p

ublic

to

pr

ovid

e in

form

atio

n or

th

roug

h ap

plic

atio

n of

pr

ovis

ions

of

th

e W

hist

le

Blo

wer

s A

ct b

y us

ing

spec

ified

in

cent

ives

Fro

m t

he C

itiz

ens

surv

ey, i

t em

erge

d th

at o

nly

29.6

% o

f the

stu

died

pop

ulat

ions

tho

ught

the

par

liam

ent

was

per

form

ing

adeq

uate

ly in

the

figh

t ag

ains

t co

rrup

tion

an

d th

eft

of p

ublic

fund

s w

hile

39.

4% fe

lt o

ther

wis

e. O

vera

ll, o

nly

17.7

0% o

f the

stu

dy p

arti

cipa

nts

wer

e co

nten

t w

ith

the

wit

h th

e ov

eral

l per

form

ance

of t

he

9th P

arlia

men

t to

war

ds s

tand

ard

8 in

the

last

thr

ee y

ears

as

figu

re s

even

illu

stra

tes.

Page 32: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

32UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

32

Stan

dard

9:

Inst

itut

e m

easu

res

to m

ake

parl

iam

enta

ry d

ecis

ions

con

sult

ativ

e an

d ac

coun

tabl

e to

cit

izen

s in

a b

id t

o in

crea

se

rele

vanc

e an

d ow

ners

hip

of s

uch

deci

sion

s.

Con

stit

utio

nal

&

othe

r L

egal

ob

liga

tion

s of

th

e in

stit

utio

n of

P

arli

amen

t

A

rtic

le 1

of 1

995

cons

titu

tion

sti

pula

tes

that

all

pow

er b

elon

gs t

o th

e pe

ople

and

the

peo

ple

can

exci

se t

his

pow

er d

irec

tly

or in

dire

ctly

thr

ough

the

ir r

epre

sent

ativ

es

Art

icle

79

of t

he C

onst

itut

ion

oblig

ates

and

em

pow

ers

Par

liam

ent

to m

ake

law

s an

d pr

omot

e de

moc

rati

c go

vern

ance

of

Uga

nda

amon

g ot

hers

on

beha

lf of

the

cit

izen

s of

Uga

nda.

Thi

s m

eans

MP

s ar

e re

spon

sibl

e to

the

ir e

lect

orat

es b

esid

es

bein

g ac

coun

tabl

e fo

r w

hate

ver

tran

spir

es in

the

par

liam

enta

ry c

ham

bers

Cit

izen

s’ a

ntic

ipat

ed a

ctio

ns f

rom

th

e 9th

Par

liam

ent

K

ey

find

ings

of

sp

ecif

ic

acti

ons

take

n by

the

9th P

arli

amen

t Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

Par

liam

enta

ry o

wn

acti

ons

Im

plem

ent

effe

ctiv

e an

d co

mpr

ehen

sive

P

arlia

men

tary

ou

trea

ches

in

ord

er t

o ta

ke t

he

parl

iam

ent

clos

er t

o th

e pe

ople

;

R

evie

w o

r am

end

legi

slat

ion

and

mak

e re

solu

tion

s to

inc

reas

e an

d st

reng

then

pa

rlia

men

t-

publ

ic

inte

rfac

e;

Inst

itut

e pa

rlia

men

tary

ope

n da

ys;

Est

ablis

h a

dedi

cate

d pa

rlia

men

tary

T

V

and

radi

o st

atio

n w

ith

live

broa

dcas

ts;

Est

ablis

h an

in

tera

ctiv

e IC

T

plat

form

to

en

gage

w

ith

the

citi

zens

;

C

ondu

ct f

ield

ove

rsig

ht v

isit

s an

d en

gage

ci

tize

n gr

oups

to

ob

tain

fe

edba

ck

and

evid

ence

of

po

licy

and

prog

ram

impl

emen

tati

on.

Fin

ding

s:

The

9t

h P

arlia

men

t un

dert

ook

the

follo

win

g ac

tion

s;

Con

duct

ed

F

our

Par

liam

enta

ry

outr

each

es t

o va

riou

s su

b re

gion

s to

en

hanc

e pu

blic

pa

rtic

ipat

ion

in

parl

iam

enta

ry a

ffair

s

In

itia

ted

an

on-g

oing

pr

oces

s to

es

tabl

ish

inde

pend

ent

Par

liam

enta

ry

TV

an

d ra

dio

that

w

ill

furt

her

enha

nce

publ

ic

part

icip

atio

n in

pa

rlia

men

tary

affa

irs

The

9th

Par

liam

ent

has

not

yet

offic

ially

ga

zett

ed

Par

liam

enta

ry

open

da

ys

for

the

publ

ic

to

part

icip

ate

and

has

not

yet

com

mit

ted

to

Inte

rnat

iona

l O

pen

Par

liam

ent

decl

arat

ion.

T

he c

urre

nt p

arlia

men

tary

IC

T

plat

form

is

not

inte

ract

ive

for

the

citi

zens

to

ef

fect

ivel

y pa

rtic

ipat

e,

follo

w

and

cont

ribu

te t

o th

e pa

rlia

men

tary

pr

ocee

ding

s an

d de

bate

R

evie

w

the

Offi

cial

Se

cret

s A

ct

of

1964

to

ca

scad

e op

enne

ss

and

tran

spar

ency

, an

d pr

ovid

e su

ffici

ent

chec

ks

and

bala

nces

an

d m

itig

ate

abus

e of

of

fice

and

corr

upti

on.

Exp

edit

e th

e pr

oces

ses

of

esta

blis

hing

re

quis

ite

and

appr

opri

ate

inst

itut

iona

l fr

amew

orks

fo

r pa

rlia

men

tary

Rad

io a

nd T

V

broa

dcas

ts

and

mak

e IC

T

plat

form

inte

ract

ive.

P

arlia

men

t sh

ould

sig

n an

d be

par

ty t

o op

en p

arlia

men

t de

clar

atio

n.

Par

liam

enta

ry p

artn

ersh

ips

F

indi

ngs

G

OO

D

T

he p

ublic

has

bee

n de

nied

som

e

Est

ablis

hmen

t of

Page 33: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

33

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

32

Stan

dard

9:

Inst

itut

e m

easu

res

to m

ake

parl

iam

enta

ry d

ecis

ions

con

sult

ativ

e an

d ac

coun

tabl

e to

cit

izen

s in

a b

id t

o in

crea

se

rele

vanc

e an

d ow

ners

hip

of s

uch

deci

sion

s.

Con

stit

utio

nal

&

othe

r L

egal

ob

liga

tion

s of

th

e in

stit

utio

n of

P

arli

amen

t

A

rtic

le 1

of 1

995

cons

titu

tion

sti

pula

tes

that

all

pow

er b

elon

gs t

o th

e pe

ople

and

the

peo

ple

can

exci

se t

his

pow

er d

irec

tly

or in

dire

ctly

thr

ough

the

ir r

epre

sent

ativ

es

Art

icle

79

of t

he C

onst

itut

ion

oblig

ates

and

em

pow

ers

Par

liam

ent

to m

ake

law

s an

d pr

omot

e de

moc

rati

c go

vern

ance

of

Uga

nda

amon

g ot

hers

on

beha

lf of

the

cit

izen

s of

Uga

nda.

Thi

s m

eans

MP

s ar

e re

spon

sibl

e to

the

ir e

lect

orat

es b

esid

es

bein

g ac

coun

tabl

e fo

r w

hate

ver

tran

spir

es in

the

par

liam

enta

ry c

ham

bers

Cit

izen

s’ a

ntic

ipat

ed a

ctio

ns f

rom

th

e 9th

Par

liam

ent

K

ey

find

ings

of

sp

ecif

ic

acti

ons

take

n by

the

9th P

arli

amen

t Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

Par

liam

enta

ry o

wn

acti

ons

Im

plem

ent

effe

ctiv

e an

d co

mpr

ehen

sive

P

arlia

men

tary

ou

trea

ches

in

ord

er t

o ta

ke t

he

parl

iam

ent

clos

er t

o th

e pe

ople

;

R

evie

w o

r am

end

legi

slat

ion

and

mak

e re

solu

tion

s to

inc

reas

e an

d st

reng

then

pa

rlia

men

t-

publ

ic

inte

rfac

e;

Inst

itut

e pa

rlia

men

tary

ope

n da

ys;

Est

ablis

h a

dedi

cate

d pa

rlia

men

tary

T

V

and

radi

o st

atio

n w

ith

live

broa

dcas

ts;

Est

ablis

h an

in

tera

ctiv

e IC

T

plat

form

to

en

gage

w

ith

the

citi

zens

;

C

ondu

ct f

ield

ove

rsig

ht v

isit

s an

d en

gage

ci

tize

n gr

oups

to

ob

tain

fe

edba

ck

and

evid

ence

of

po

licy

and

prog

ram

impl

emen

tati

on.

Fin

ding

s:

The

9t

h P

arlia

men

t un

dert

ook

the

follo

win

g ac

tion

s;

Con

duct

ed

F

our

Par

liam

enta

ry

outr

each

es t

o va

riou

s su

b re

gion

s to

en

hanc

e pu

blic

pa

rtic

ipat

ion

in

parl

iam

enta

ry a

ffair

s

In

itia

ted

an

on-g

oing

pr

oces

s to

es

tabl

ish

inde

pend

ent

Par

liam

enta

ry

TV

an

d ra

dio

that

w

ill

furt

her

enha

nce

publ

ic

part

icip

atio

n in

pa

rlia

men

tary

affa

irs

The

9th

Par

liam

ent

has

not

yet

offic

ially

ga

zett

ed

Par

liam

enta

ry

open

da

ys

for

the

publ

ic

to

part

icip

ate

and

has

not

yet

com

mit

ted

to

Inte

rnat

iona

l O

pen

Par

liam

ent

decl

arat

ion.

T

he c

urre

nt p

arlia

men

tary

IC

T

plat

form

is

not

inte

ract

ive

for

the

citi

zens

to

ef

fect

ivel

y pa

rtic

ipat

e,

follo

w

and

cont

ribu

te t

o th

e pa

rlia

men

tary

pr

ocee

ding

s an

d de

bate

R

evie

w

the

Offi

cial

Se

cret

s A

ct

of

1964

to

ca

scad

e op

enne

ss

and

tran

spar

ency

, an

d pr

ovid

e su

ffici

ent

chec

ks

and

bala

nces

an

d m

itig

ate

abus

e of

of

fice

and

corr

upti

on.

Exp

edit

e th

e pr

oces

ses

of

esta

blis

hing

re

quis

ite

and

appr

opri

ate

inst

itut

iona

l fr

amew

orks

fo

r pa

rlia

men

tary

Rad

io a

nd T

V

broa

dcas

ts

and

mak

e IC

T

plat

form

inte

ract

ive.

P

arlia

men

t sh

ould

sig

n an

d be

par

ty t

o op

en p

arlia

men

t de

clar

atio

n.

Par

liam

enta

ry p

artn

ersh

ips

F

indi

ngs

G

OO

D

T

he p

ublic

has

bee

n de

nied

som

e

Est

ablis

hmen

t of

33

D

evel

ops

a m

echa

nism

of

wor

king

w

ith

civi

l so

ciet

y or

gani

zati

ons

to

incr

ease

ci

tize

ns’

cons

truc

tive

en

gage

men

t w

ith

parl

iam

ent.

Dev

elop

m

echa

nism

an

d m

ake

publ

ic f

or c

itiz

ens’

in

tere

st g

roup

s an

d co

nsti

tuen

cy

dele

gati

ons

to

visi

t par

liam

ent;

P

arlia

men

t si

gns

a co

mm

itm

ent

to

the

Ope

n P

arlia

men

t D

ecla

rati

on.

G

rant

s ea

sy a

cces

s to

par

liam

enta

ry

info

rmat

ion

Si

gned

a p

artn

ersh

ip M

OU

s w

ith

Civ

il So

ciet

y to

st

reng

then

co

llabo

rati

on

on

parl

iam

enta

ry

mat

ters

Rec

eive

d cl

ose

to 6

0 pe

titi

ons

from

ci

tize

ns’

asso

ciat

ions

, in

divi

dual

s,

civi

l so

ciet

y,

fait

h ba

sed

orga

niza

tion

and

pol

itic

al p

arti

es.

Res

pond

ed t

o at

lea

st 2

0 pe

titi

ons

in t

he la

st t

hree

yea

rs

info

rmat

ion

for

inst

ance

th

e pr

uden

t pr

oces

s fo

r lo

an

acqu

isit

ion

base

d on

pa

rlia

men

tary

con

sult

atio

ns a

nd

disc

ussi

on

of

oil

prod

ucti

on

shar

ing

agre

emen

ts

rem

ain

a ch

alle

nge

requ

isit

e an

d ap

prop

riat

e in

stit

utio

nal

fram

ewor

ks

to e

nhan

ce t

he c

apab

ility

of

cit

izen

s to

par

tici

pate

in

dec

isio

n m

akin

g

The

Cit

izen

s su

rvey

rev

eals

tha

t fin

ding

s fr

om t

he s

tudi

ed p

opul

atio

ns r

evea

l tha

t on

ly 2

4.2%

of t

he s

tudi

ed p

opul

atio

n fe

els

that

Par

liam

ent

effe

ctiv

ely

cons

ulte

d an

d in

volv

ed t

he p

ublic

on

issu

es o

f nat

iona

l and

loca

l im

port

ance

whi

le 4

0.4%

dis

agre

ed. A

lso

only

14.

1% in

dica

ted

that

Par

liam

ent

had

unde

rtak

en o

utre

ache

s in

the

ir

loca

l are

a an

d in

stit

uted

pub

lic a

cces

s to

par

liam

ent

syst

ems

and

faci

litie

s w

hile

31%

res

pond

ed in

the

neg

ativ

e St

anda

rd 1

0: D

ecis

ivel

y re

view

the

spe

cial

int

eres

t gr

oup

repr

esen

tati

on i

n li

ght

of a

mul

tipa

rty

disp

ensa

tion

and

sta

rt o

n a

proc

ess

that

w

ill

incr

ease

th

eir

rele

vanc

e in

po

liti

cal

part

y st

ruct

ures

w

hile

ph

asin

g th

em

out

of

affi

rmat

ive

acti

on

repr

esen

tati

on.

Con

stit

utio

nal

&

othe

r L

egal

ob

liga

tion

s of

the

in

stit

utio

n of

P

arli

amen

t

A

rtic

le 7

8 (1

) of

the

Con

stit

utio

n pr

ovid

es f

or t

he

Com

posi

tion

of

Par

liam

ent

to i

nclu

de m

embe

rs d

irec

tly

elec

ted

to r

epre

sent

co

nsti

tuen

cies

, one

wom

an r

epre

sent

ativ

e fo

r ev

ery

dist

rict

, su

ch n

umbe

rs o

f rep

rese

ntat

ives

of t

he a

rmy,

you

th, w

orke

rs, p

erso

ns w

ith

disa

bilit

ies

and

othe

r gr

oups

as

Par

liam

ent

may

det

erm

ine;

Oth

er c

onst

itut

iona

l gua

rant

ees

are

prov

ided

for

in A

rtic

le 3

6 un

der

the

prot

ecti

on o

f min

orit

ies.

The

art

icle

sta

tes

that

, “M

inor

itie

s ha

ve

a ri

ght

to p

arti

cipa

te i

n de

cisi

on m

akin

g pr

oces

ses,

and

the

ir v

iew

s an

d in

tere

sts

shal

l be

tak

en i

nto

acco

unt

in t

he m

akin

g of

nat

iona

l pl

ans

and

prog

ram

mes

Cla

use

(2)

of A

rtic

le 7

8 pr

ovid

es t

hat

upon

the

exp

irat

ion

of a

per

iod

of t

en y

ears

aft

er t

he c

omm

ence

men

t of

thi

s C

onst

itut

ion

and

ther

eaft

er, e

very

fiv

e ye

ars,

Par

liam

ent

shal

l re

view

the

rep

rese

ntat

ion

unde

r cl

ause

(D

istr

ict

Wom

an M

embe

rs o

f P

arlia

men

t an

d th

e ar

my,

yo

uth

and

othe

r m

argi

naliz

ed

grou

p re

pres

enta

tion

s)

for

the

purp

oses

of

re

tain

ing,

in

crea

sing

or

ab

olis

hing

an

y su

ch

repr

esen

tati

on a

nd a

ny o

ther

mat

ter

inci

dent

al t

o it

. C

itiz

ens’

ant

icip

ated

act

ions

fro

m

the

9th P

arli

amen

t

Key

fin

ding

s of

spe

cifi

c ac

tion

s ta

ken

by t

he 9

th P

arli

amen

t Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

Page 34: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

34UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

34

The

ci

tize

n ex

pect

th

e 9t

h P

arlia

men

t to

;

U

nder

take

he

r co

nsti

tuti

onal

m

anda

te

to

revi

ew

the

repr

esen

tati

on o

f sp

ecia

l in

tere

st

grou

ps

T

he 9

th p

arlia

men

t pa

sses

new

, re

view

s an

d am

ends

ex

isti

ng

law

s to

st

reng

then

th

e pa

rtic

ipat

ion

of

spec

ial

inte

rest

gr

oups

in

pol

itic

al p

arti

es i

n a

view

to

wid

en a

nd i

ncre

ase

the

scop

e of

the

ir p

arti

cipa

tion

.

P

arlia

men

t un

dert

akes

w

ider

co

nsul

tati

ons

wit

h al

l sp

ecia

l in

tere

st g

roup

s an

d ga

ther

s th

eir

view

s on

how

bes

t to

im

prov

e an

d m

ake

it

bett

er

and

sust

aina

ble

thei

r re

pres

enta

tion

in

dec

isio

n m

akin

g.

M

akes

re

solu

tion

s an

d bu

dget

al

loca

tion

s to

war

ds

the

spec

ial

inte

rest

gro

ups'

repr

esen

tati

on

.

Stat

emen

ts a

nd q

uest

ions

rai

sed

on

the

stat

us

of

Par

liam

enta

ry

spec

ial

inte

rest

gr

oups

. 7t

h D

ecem

ber

2012

, 21

st F

ebru

ary

2012

Uga

nda

Wom

en’s

P

arlia

men

tary

A

ssoc

iati

on (

UW

OP

A)

carr

ied

fort

h to

th

e 9t

h P

arlia

men

t to

dis

cuss

, sha

re a

nd

supp

ort

acti

viti

es t

o en

hanc

e w

omen

M

embe

rs o

f Par

liam

ent

part

icip

atio

n in

pa

rlia

men

tary

de

cisi

on

mak

ing

proc

esse

s.

U

gand

a P

arlia

men

tary

F

orum

fo

r ch

ildre

n (U

PF

C) i

s in

pla

ce.

T

he

wom

en

mem

bers

of

pa

rlia

men

t ha

ve

been

ve

ry

inst

rum

enta

l in

pu

rsui

ng

gend

er

rela

ted

legi

slat

ions

an

d is

sues

in p

arlia

men

t.

U

gand

a Y

oung

P

arlia

men

tari

ans

Ass

ocia

tion

is

in p

lace

tha

t br

ings

all

youn

g pa

rlia

men

tari

ans

toge

ther

to

pu

rsue

issu

es a

ffect

ing

youn

g pe

ople

.

PO

OR

No

dire

ct

acti

on

has

been

co

nduc

ted

by

the

9th

Par

liam

ent

to

addr

ess

the

dem

ands

of t

his

stan

dard

H

as n

ot r

evie

wed

the

sta

tus

of

spec

ial

inte

rest

gr

oups

’ re

pres

enta

tion

in

the

hous

e as

m

anda

ted

by la

w.

R

evie

w

sp

ecia

l in

tere

st

grou

ps a

s m

anda

ted

by l

aw

(aft

er e

very

5 y

ears

)

T

hat

an

inde

pend

ent

in-

dept

h st

udy

of

the

perf

orm

ance

an

d im

pact

of

th

e in

tere

st

grou

ps

be

cond

ucte

d to

aid

the

rev

iew

by

par

liam

ent.

In r

elat

ion

to t

he o

vera

ll pe

rfor

man

ce o

f the

9th

Par

liam

ent

tow

ards

sta

ndar

d 10

, 55.

9% o

f the

stu

died

res

pond

ents

felt

the

spe

cial

inte

rest

gro

ups

wer

e un

nece

ssar

y in

pa

rlia

men

t w

hile

onl

y 22

.6%

dis

agre

ed, a

nd 1

7.6%

did

not

giv

e fe

edba

ck.

Stan

dard

11:

Par

liam

ent

and

its

mem

bers

is

expe

cted

to

repr

esen

t al

l th

e st

anda

rds

of g

ood

lead

ers-

good

lea

ders

are

hon

est

, ha

ve c

ompa

ssio

n, p

rom

ote

unit

y, a

re G

od f

eari

ng,

and

act

so,

resp

ect

the

valu

e of

ins

titu

tion

s, r

espe

ct t

he r

ule

of l

aw,

adm

it

wro

ng a

nd t

ake

resp

onsi

bili

ty, a

re t

oler

ant

of d

iver

gent

vie

ws,

are

pea

ce m

aker

s an

d ex

empl

ary

Con

stit

utio

nal

&

othe

r L

egal

ob

liga

tion

s of

the

in

stit

utio

n of

P

arli

amen

t

T

he G

over

nmen

t, C

hief

, th

e C

hief

Opp

osit

ion

Whi

p an

d th

e ot

her

Par

ty W

hips

are

pro

vide

d fo

r un

der

sect

ions

6(h

), 6(

j) of

the

A

dmin

istr

atio

n of

Par

liam

ent

(Am

endm

ent)

Act

, 200

6.

T

he m

embe

rs o

f P

arlia

men

t’s c

ondu

ct a

re a

lso

guid

ed b

y th

e L

eade

rshi

p C

ode

Act

200

2 w

hich

spe

lls o

ut c

ondu

ct b

efit

ting

for

pub

lic

offic

ials

. In

addi

tion

, the

Cod

e of

Con

duct

for

mem

bers

of p

arlia

men

t un

der

the

Rul

es o

f Pro

cedu

re 2

012.

Cit

izen

s’ a

ntic

ipat

ed a

ctio

ns f

rom

K

ey f

indi

ngs

of s

peci

fic

acti

ons

take

n Sc

ores

G

aps

Rec

omm

enda

tion

s

Page 35: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

35

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

35

the

9th P

arli

amen

t

by t

he 9

th P

arli

amen

t 1.

M

echa

nism

s fo

r di

scip

line

an

d et

hica

l beh

avio

r

Est

ablis

h a

code

of

cond

uct

for

parl

iam

enta

rian

s w

ithi

n an

d ou

tsid

e th

e pa

rlia

men

t.

M

ake

parl

iam

enta

ry r

esol

utio

ns

and

adm

inis

trat

ive

polic

y ai

med

at

im

prov

ing

perf

orm

ance

, et

hica

l be

havi

our

of

MP

S to

war

ds

stre

ngth

enin

g th

e in

stit

utio

n

Fin

ding

s:

A

cod

e of

con

duct

is

in p

lace

for

m

embe

rs o

f par

liam

ent.

G

over

nmen

t an

d O

ppos

itio

n ch

ief

whi

ps i

n pl

ace

to c

heck

the

con

duct

of

the

ir m

embe

rs i

n an

d ou

t of

the

H

ouse

.

A

Stan

ding

C

omm

itte

e on

ru

les,

di

scip

line

and

priv

ilege

s is

in p

lace

.

Stat

emen

ts

and

ques

tion

s ra

ised

co

ncer

ning

the

une

thic

al c

ondu

ct o

f so

me

of t

he M

Ps.

GO

OD

MP

s of

ten

show

n fig

htin

g an

d ye

lling

in

th

e flo

or

of

parl

iam

ent

and

tear

ing

of

pape

rs is

une

thic

al a

nd a

sen

se

of

into

l era

nce

to

dive

rgen

t vi

ews.

The

ov

erw

helm

ing

and

irra

tion

al u

se o

f nu

mbe

rs b

y th

e ru

ling

part

y to

pas

s an

ti-

crit

iciz

es

deci

sion

s pr

omot

es

disu

nity

and

is

a re

cipe

fo

r m

isru

le a

nd v

iole

nce.

Par

liam

enta

ry

stan

dard

s of

be

havi

or

shou

ld

refle

ct

inte

rnat

iona

l st

anda

rds

as w

ell

as c

usto

ms

and

ethi

cal v

alue

s

1.

Enf

orci

ng

ethi

cal

stan

dard

s an

d go

od le

ader

ship

Reg

ular

ly

revi

ew

and

stre

ngth

en

adhe

renc

e to

th

e pa

rlia

men

tary

ru

les

of

proc

edur

e,

gene

ral

code

of

co

nduc

t.

MP

S fu

lly

com

ply

wit

h th

e pr

ovis

ions

of

th

e 'le

ader

ship

co

de'.

Fin

ding

s

Rep

ort

on t

he c

ondu

ct o

f Hon

. Ton

y N

subu

ga K

ipoi

Feb

201

4

Tw

o M

embe

rs

of

Par

liam

ent

lost

th

eir

seat

s ou

t of

m

isco

nduc

t or

m

issi

ng s

essi

ons.

In

part

icul

ar H

on.

Ton

y K

ipoi

, an

d G

en.

Dav

id S

ejus

a lo

st t

heir

sea

ts.

The

Dep

uty

Spea

ker

was

cri

tici

zed

for

“unf

airl

y”

orde

ring

fo

r th

e vi

olen

t ev

icti

on

of

one

of

the

Mem

bers

of

P

arlia

men

t, H

on.

Sem

ujju

Nga

nda

PO

OR

T

here

is

a w

orry

ing

dete

rior

atio

n in

the

con

duct

and

dis

cipl

ine

of

Mem

bers

of

th

e 9t

h P

arlia

men

t. N

ot o

nly

is t

he n

umbe

r of

MP

s en

gage

d in

cri

min

al a

ctiv

itie

s on

th

e ri

se, b

ut a

lso

poor

beh

avio

ur in

th

e A

ugus

t H

ouse

. N

otab

le c

ases

w

ere

of

A

n M

P a

rres

ted

for

wan

ting

to

bl

ow- u

p a

brid

ge

in

Aga

go,

M

Ps

repo

rted

to

be

su

ppor

ting

reb

el a

ctiv

itie

s,

M

Ps

invo

lved

in d

rink

dri

ving

op

erat

ions

an

d as

saul

ting

po

lice

offic

ers

A

bsco

ndin

g fr

om

duty

an

d pe

rpet

ual a

bsen

teei

sm

L

avis

h sp

endi

ng

of

MP

s of

publ

ic f

inan

ces

is i

n it

self

an

ac

t of

mis

man

agem

ent.

Is

sues

of

al

lege

d br

iber

y of

M

Ps

by e

xecu

tive

con

tinu

e to

be

devi

l the

9th

Par

liam

ent

T

ough

en t

he c

ost

for

MP

s th

at

enga

ge

in

diffe

rent

fo

rms

of m

isco

nduc

t.

E

mpl

oy

citi

zenr

y m

onit

orin

g sy

stem

s to

m

onit

or

the

cond

uct

of

MP

s.

M

embe

rs

of

parl

iam

ent

shou

ld c

ondu

ct t

hem

selv

es

in p

ublic

int

eres

t an

d do

so

in

a m

anne

r th

at

mee

ts

soci

etal

ex

pect

atio

ns

and

ethi

cal

beha

vior

, w

hich

is

im

port

ant

to d

evel

op p

ublic

tr

ust.

F

rom

the

Cit

izen

s su

rvey

, onl

y 31

.5%

of

resp

onde

nts

felt

tha

t th

e 9t

h P

arlia

men

t es

pous

ed g

ood

qual

itie

s of

lea

ders

hip

and

cond

uct

whi

le c

arry

ing

out

thei

r ex

pect

ed d

utie

s an

d ro

les

whi

le 3

1.7%

dis

agre

ed.

8.9

of t

he r

espo

nden

ts w

ere

not

sure

whi

le 2

7.9

post

ed n

o fe

edba

ck

Page 36: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

36UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

• F

rom

the

Cit

izen

s su

rvey

, onl

y 31

.5%

of

resp

onde

nts

felt

tha

t th

e 9t

h P

arlia

men

t es

pous

ed g

ood

qual

itie

s of

lea

ders

hip

and

cond

uct

whi

le c

arry

ing

out

thei

r ex

pect

ed d

utie

s an

d ro

les

whi

le 3

1.7%

dis

agre

ed.

8.9

of t

he r

espo

nden

ts w

ere

not

sure

whi

le 2

7.9

post

ed n

o fe

edba

ck

• A

bout

78%

fou

nd t

he o

ffice

of

spea

ker

to b

e ex

empl

ary

and

effe

ctiv

e in

its

rol

es a

nd d

utie

s to

par

liam

ent

whi

le t

hose

who

ans

wer

ed i

n th

e ne

gati

ve w

ere

11%

. •

Onl

y 22

.9%

of

the

resp

onde

nts

felt

tha

t th

e D

eput

y sp

eake

r pe

rfor

med

his

dut

ies

wit

h ef

fect

iven

ess

and

dilig

ence

in

the

parl

iam

ent

whi

le t

hose

who

fel

t di

ssat

isfie

d w

ith

his

perf

orm

ance

wer

e ov

erw

helm

ingl

y 61

.3%

.

Mea

nwhi

le 5

5.1%

of

the

resp

onde

nts

felt

sat

isfie

d w

ith

the

man

ner

in w

hich

the

offi

ce o

f th

e L

eade

r of

Opp

osit

ion

cond

ucte

d th

eir

busi

ness

in p

a rlia

men

t w

hile

30.

8% r

espo

nded

in t

he n

egat

ive.

• In

the

sam

e m

anne

r, 2

7% o

f the

res

pond

ents

wer

e sa

tisf

ied

wit

h th

e pe

rfor

man

ce o

f the

lead

er o

f Gov

ernm

ent

busi

ness

in t

he 9

th p

arlia

men

t bu

t 42

.2%

wer

e no

t.

And

fina

lly, 3

0.1%

wer

e sa

tisf

ied

wit

h th

e pe

rfor

man

ce o

f the

Gov

ernm

ent

chie

f whi

p of

the

9th

Par

liam

ent;

how

ever

, tho

se w

ho r

espo

nded

in t

he n

egat

ive

wer

e 39

%.

Page 37: Parliament watch bulletin Mid Term Audit 2014

37

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

Conclusions & RecommendationsPart 3

Source: Field Survey on Performance of Parliament

In the 2011 campaigns period, over 400 aspirants for Parliament from different political shades signed leaders’ commitment forms, committing to implement the demands as well as deliver as per Citizens expectations in the Citizens Manifesto. Some of these were elected to the 9th Parliament, contributing to the total of 365 MPs. Following this, the speaker of Parliament on behalf of Parliament signed a Memorandum of Understanding with citizen organizations led by the Uganda National NGO Forum and the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC). As part of this MOU, a Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament was presented and accepted as a standard upon which the institution of Parliament would be assessed. Based on the above, the 9th Parliament is obligated to uphold the demands in the Citizens’ Manifesto that are translated into standards for the period 2011-2016. Findings in this report portray that even though such commitments were made in the beginning by the 9th parliament, the last three years have seen a large discrepancy between acclaimed actions, actual results and citizens’ satisfaction in almost all the 11 standards.

Despite commendable strides made on a number of areas, Parliament of Uganda still has a range of improvements to make in its functioning. The main challenge, noted like with other public obligations, has been with the management and implementation of these amended bills and planned activities to meet the standards. There are varying perceptions about the performance of the 9th Parliament from the citizens in all 11 standards.

This section presents the key conclusions and recommendations made as part of this audit. The recommendations and conclusions are intended to augment the Performance of the 9th Parliament and the sessions that will follow. These are presented in relation to the three main functions of Parliament; legislative function representation, and oversight.

3.1.1 Legislative Role Over the past three years, the 9th Parliament has discussed and passed several laws some of which affect fundamental rights and freedoms in Uganda. In the exercise of its legislative function, parliament is not only limited to laws, Bills and policies that are presented before them. They can look at laws already passed and propose review and amendments for them.

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38UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

In its first session, the 9th Parliament was able to pass up to 11 bills and adopted 23 bills that were not concluded by the 8th parliament . So far the 9th Parliament has passed some of the following legislations; the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Act 2013,The Petroleum (Refining, Gas processing and Conversion, Transportation and Storage) Act 2013, The Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act 2011, the prohibition and prevention of torture Act 2012, the supplementary appropriations Act, the Industrial Property Act 2012, which seeks to protect Ugandan inventions, creations or designs of inventors operating within Uganda among others.

However some of the bills before parliament and others that were passed are still subject to scrutiny as they are deemed unconstitutional or barely meet standard 1 of the citizens’ manifesto. It is also noted that several Members of Parliament demonstrated ignorance and either made meaningless contributions or desisted from participating in debate in parliament. More worrying is the fact that the levels of absenteeism by Members of Parliament were high, leading to Parliament lagging behind on its targets. It is thus recommended that:

• Parliament adheres to the Human Rights Checklist while deliberating on laws and on their subsequent passage

• Parliament should endeavor to respect its own rules and procedures while legislating and desist from acting in a manner that could be viewed as emotive. In particular the two thirds majority should be observed before any law is passed.

• Parliament should also ensure that individuals who do not contribute to debate when a law is being discussed are not allowed to participate in its passage by voting

• The Business Committee should list all pending bills carried over from the 8th Parliament & prioritize them on the proposed business schedule for the next session of the 9th Parliament in order to align its work plan with Standards in the CPPU.

• Session Committees should be more vigilant in pursuing bills relevant to their docket & use their mandate to initiate Private Members’ bills.

• Increase sharing of information and enhance knowledge and the skills base for MPs on the how-to undertake gender audits, budget analysis & application of human rights standards when reviewing bills under their portfolio.

• The 9th Parliament should take leadership as expected under Standard No. 11 to initiate the discussion on the reduction of the size of Parliament in order to make it more cost effective and efficient. A debate on the composition of Parliament should begin in the Second Session of Parliament so that relevant Constitutional amendments are undertaken & the review of the electoral laws is prioritized by the 9th Parliament before the end of 2014.

• Finally, Parliament should listen to Citizens concerns over certain legislations such as the Public Order Management Act, the NGO Act, and the Anti Pornography Act and repeal them as has been demanded by popular citizen groups and organizations.

3.1.2 Representation and Participation

This assessment finds that Parliament has done a commendable job in the fight against corruption. The different Accountability Committees such as PAC and COSASE have not only labored to expose but also in some instances followed through the culprits to ensure their prosecution. Parliament has been credited mainly for investing and exposing the excesses of the executive and areas where public officers failed to pay due diligence to protect Uganda’s interests which had led to the country losing billions of shillings in questionable compensations or outright theft.

It is also notable that the different parliamentary committees provide MPs with more opportunities to participate effectively in the business of Parliament compare to the House sessions where a member has only three minutes within which to submit his / her comments on an issue on the floor of the House. However, regular attendance remained

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A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

elusive in the case of some MPs and the major concern was also on substantive participation. The bad practice of some MPs signing in with the Clerks and then leaving the sessions shortly after was reported. It was also found that majority of MPs agree that the size of Parliament has reached unsustainable levels and has become a cost burden to the tax payer without necessarily increasing effective representation.

It is however notable that Parliament is faced with some limitations that cannot allow it to effectively represent citizen interests. To start with, the expectations by Citizens of their Members of Parliament still seem to be at a variance with the roles and responsibilities of MPs. Several MPs interviewed for this assessment complained of continued requests for money, and other handouts to meet school fees and social obligations. This has not only encroached on MPs salaries but also made them become vulnerable to bribes from more powerful individuals to meet their voters’ expectations. In addition, MPs have invested more time pursuing personal opportunities and dodged Parliamentary sessions, thus limiting the extent to which they can represent their electorates.

In addition, there are actions that have been taken by Parliament such as purchase of “i-pads” for MPs and offering over 100,000,000 shillings for purchase of vehicles. Both expenses have been widely criticized by Ugandans from various shades as being insensitive to poor tax payers.

The practice of making parliamentary decisions in party caucuses especially by the ruling party (NRM) has not only crippled objective debate but also as a result led to bad laws sailing through Parliament.

It is thus recommended that:

• The Speaker of Parliament should prevail over the Party Chief Whip to desist from allowing Parliamentary business to be decided upon in the NRM caucus. Caucusing and collective action should only be encouraged through the various Parliamentary Forums as platforms for learning and peer support.

• Increase on the intensity of the Parliament outreach program so that more Citizens are reached and understand the work and operations of Parliament

• Parliament should work with Civil Society to conduct citizen education for increased public and voter awareness about actual role of a Member of Parliament and the institution of Parliament in order to harmonize people’s expectations with the constitutional role and mandate of Parliament.

• The Clerk’s office & Business Committee should strictly monitor MPs attendance & participation in plenary sessions & Committee meetings and publish this information on a regular basis.

• The Speaker of Parliament should regularly raise the issue of participation and representation on the floor of Parliament and ensure that disciplinary measures are taken for absenteeism without appropriate notice and permission.

• The Government Chief Whip and Leader of Government business should be carefully selected as these are the chief mobilizes of ministers and MPs. The purpose is to ensure that the MPs holding these positions have the experience, knowledge and the right skills-mix to effectively mobilize MPs to participate in plenary and committee sessions.

• The review of the policies and laws on representation should be prioritized with the aim of working out a new formula for equitable representation to reduce the size of Parliament and as a strategy for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Parliament. With 112 districts, it would be sufficient for each one of them to have just one representative in Parliament

• Appointments of MPs to Select Committees/ Ad hoc Committee should comply with all dimensions of representation including the minimum 1/3 principle for gender representation.

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40UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

3.1.3 Oversight Role

The 9th Parliament is commended for its vibrancy in terms of oversight. Despite some challenges, different Parliamentary Committees played a central role in investigating the excesses of the executive and where ministers and public officers failed to take due diligence in their work and decision making processes in order to protect the interests of the people. However some of the respondents to this assessment exercise expressed concern about the slow process of investigating some of these cases, as well as the capacity for Parliament to ensure that the culprits are brought o book.

It was noted that while the Speaker of Parliament Hon. Rebecca Kadaga performed very well in the by introducing new practices such as an Annual Schedule as a key planning tool for Parliament as an Institution as well as for the MPs to manage their time better, she also faced some constraints which made it difficult for her to steer the August house independently. On certain occasions she is quoted as having participated in debates on some critical issues, and even publically declared passage of laws consider3ed as controversial. This not only damaged her image internationally but also cast as someone that had taken sides with one group against another, yet she ought to have been neutral. The Similar criticisms were made about the Deputy Speaker who passed numerous laws without quorum such as the Public Order Management Act and sometimes used confusing legal language to trick MPs into passing laws they wouldn’t otherwise have passed.

It is also noted that Parliament as an institution has been criticized widely for failing to act on allegations of bribery of its own Members especially when suspected to be engineered by the ruling party. For instance, Parliament has failed to convincingly clear allegations of Members of Parliament receiving over UGX 110,000,000 to promote H.E. Yoweri Museveni as NRM’s sole candidate for the in the 2016 elections. It is thus recommended that:

• Once the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected they should give up their constituency seats and dedicate their time to serve the people of Uganda in these capacities.

• Speaker and Deputy Speaker should have performance targets which are made public at the beginning of each annual session. These should take into account the citizens’ expectations in the CPPU.

• Parliament should use the annual budget review & approval process to demand for accountability from sectors that are least responsive to the recommendations of Parliament. It was noted that the Ministry of Health (MOH) was the least responsive to the questions and concerns of the MPs in the First Session of the 9th Parliament. It is recommended that the approval of the estimates of the MOH for the FY 2012/ 2013 be subjected to thorough scrutiny by the new Parliamentary Committee on Heath and MPs should use the budget review process to obtain a full Report on the state of health in Uganda so that the priorities in the budget are aligned to the critical needs of the people.

• Establish a tracking system to regularly call on the front bench to respond and inform Parliament and people of Uganda on actions or measures taken to implement parliamentary decisions/ resolutions.

• Political parties/ organizations should desist from any attempts of reversing decisions made in Parliament through party caucusing or any other unconstitutional means. Instead they should strive to uphold Standard No. 9 by making parliamentary decisions consultative and accountable to the citizens.

• The budget for the Clerk’s office should cater for the cost of recruiting additional staff members to be able to manage the workload and effectively service the work of Parliament.

• Parliament should explore all legal avenues to compel the Executive and the Judiciary to have the persons implicated in the Committee reports tabled before Parliament on cases of corruption investigated & culprits duly punished including those found guilty of abuse of office in the President’s Office. It is important that someone takes responsibility for the numerous cases of abuse of public office and failure for government to take due diligence when handling public affairs and resources.

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A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

UGMP September 2014

• The appointment of various ministers & other key stakeholders that require approval of Parliament should involve a rigorous process of candidates’ review to establish a track record of good leadership with integrity.

• Parliament should ensure that stringent laws & regulatory frameworks are in place to minimize opportunities for corruption and executive excesses. Bills that are to address this gap should be prioritized in the legislative agenda in all subsequent sessions of the 9th Parliament.

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42UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament

44

HURINET

UGMP Contact:

C/o Uganda National NGO ForumPlot 25, Muyenga Tank Hill Rd, Kabalagala

P.O Box 4636, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 414-510 272/+256 312 260373

Fax: +256 312-260 372Email: [email protected]: www.ngoforum.or.ug

9 7 8 9 9 7 0 3 0 0 0 0 6

UGMP Contact:C/o Uganda National NGO Forum

Plot 25, Muyenga Tank Hill Rd, KabalagalaP.O Box 4636, Kampala, Uganda

Tel: +256 414-510 272/+256 312 260373Fax: +256 312-260 372

Email: [email protected]: www.ngoforum.or.ug