Parliament-Watch-Bulletin_Mid-Term-Audit-2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentJEEMAJLOSLCMDAsMoUMPMTEFNARNDPNEMANFANGONRMNODPSPPACPFAAPRDPPSIPRDCTSAUGMPUgshsUPCUPDFUPFCUPOLETUWOPAJustice Forum of UgandaJustice and Law and Order SectorLocal CouncilMinistries Departments and AgenciesMemorandum of UnderstandingMember of ParliamentMedium Term Expenditure FrameworkNet Attendance RatioNational Development PlanNational Environment Management AuthorityNational forestry AuthorityNon-Government OrganizationNational Resistance MovementNational Objectives and Directive Principles of State PolicyPublic Accounts CommitteePublic Finance & Accountability ActPeace Recovery and Development PlanParliament of Uganda 5-year Strategic Investment PlanResident District CommissionerTreasury Single AccountUganda Governance Monitoring PlatformUganda ShillingsUganda People’s CongressUganda People’s Defense ForcesUganda Parliamentary Forum for ChildrenUniversal Post O Level Education and TrainingUganda women Parliamentary Association4UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentForewordThe institution of Parliament has popularly been referred to as the temple of democracy. Parliaments the world overare 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 institutionof Parliament and its Members suffered a challenge of mixed expectations from their citizenry. The variance betweentheir roles and responsibilities and citizens expectations of them was evident indicating that their assessment was notbased on clear indicators.Informed by this reality and in preparation for the 2011 Presidential and Parliamentary elections a Citizens Manifestowas 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 whichCitizens 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 thischarter as a benchmark for assessing the performance of Parliament. This midterm audit of Parliament presentsfindings from a 3 year assessment of the 9th Parliament, based on the Citizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament. It’snoteworthy 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, constitutionalprovisions, 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 accountthese various reasons.Independent efforts to assess the impact of the legislature remain limited, which makes this report a major milestonetowards 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 andonly positive picture of the progress, but it does celebrate the achievements of the 9th Parliament, and also articulatesthe 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 theLegislative, oversight, and representational role of members of Parliament and effectiveness of the Institution ofParliament.Richard SsewakiryangaExecutive Director,Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF)UGMP September 20145

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentAcknowledgementThis mid-term Assessment of the 9th Parliament has benefited from the hard work and commitment of severalagencies 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) - acivil society Governance Monitoring Group comprising 18 Ugandan organizations united in the quest for good anddemocratic governance.Special thanks go to the Citizens’ Manifesto regional hub lead agencies and Citizens’ Manifesto Partners whocoordinated the process of community consultations in the seven regions and 35 districts where this Assessment wasconducted. These include Community Development and Child Welfare Initiatives (CODI); Luwero District NGOForum, Gulu NGO Forum (GDNF); Mid- Western Region Anti-Corruption Coalition (MIRAC) and Masindi DistrictNGO Forum; Pallisa Civil Society Network (PACONET); Tororo Civil Society Network (TOCINET); Kapchorwa CivilSociety 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, KanunguDistrict NGO Forum, KICK Corruption Out of Kigezi, Mid Western Centre for Democracy (MICOD), and theFacilitation for Peace and Development (FAPAD); Western Ankole Civil Society Forum, and Public Affairs Centre ofUganda.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 Ugandawho accommodated the data collection teams and took time off their busy schedules to share their views about theperformance 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 LeadershipInstitute, 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 ofthe 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 greatlycontributed towards this audit process and outcome.Prof. J.B. KwesigaAMBASSADOR- UGANDA GOVERNANCE MONITORING PLATFORM (UGMP)6UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament1.1 Objectives of the AssessmentThe overall objective of the Assessment was to track progress and assess the performance of the institution of the9th Parliament of Uganda half way its tenure, and within the context of the citizens’ expectations. It was also basedon 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 withconstitutional obligations as well as citizens expectations as contained in the 11 standards of CitizensCharter for Parliament.• To analyze key legislations, resolutions and policies passed by the 9th Parliament and establish the extent towhich they are representative of the common good, respect to the constitution, and the Citizens Manifestoideals.• To assess the performance of the 9th Parliament at both plenary and committee level in relation to theiroutputs within the context of various dimensions of different standards contained in the Citizens ManifestoCharter for Parliament;• To assess the Citizens perceptions on the performance of the 9th parliament with the aim to increase andstrengthen citizens own involvement and participation in parliamentary business especially in its coremandate of legislation and executive oversight.• Finally, based on Citizens rankings of the different dimensions of the set standards, report on criticalareas that Members of the 9th Parliament and Parliament as an institution should focus on in the next 2years in fulfillment of their mandate.1.2 The Conceptual framework for this AssessmentCitizens have a basic right to make, contribute to, and influence decisions that affect them. In his book The SocialContract, Or Principles of Political Right (1762), Jean-Jacques Rousseau theorized that a perfect society should becontrolled by the “general will” of its populace. He suggested that assemblies be held in which every citizen can assistin determining the general will. Without this input from the people, there could be no legitimate government. Thismust be from the people themselves. Rousseau postulates that every law the people have not ratified in person is nulland void — is, in fact, not a law 2 and that the legislative power belongs to the people, and can belong to it alone. 3Article 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 thusa need to have elected representatives to deliberate on the affairs of Government on behalf of the people. These arethe MPs who enact laws, approve Government policies, budget expenditure outlays and service delivery programmes. 4Uganda’s Parliament is a democratic, parliamentary system of government modeled on the Westminster systemwhich is borrowed from the country’s former colonial masters, United Kingdom and it has is a series of proceduresfor operating a legislature.The role of the public should not be limited to simply periodic (5year term) election of its leaders. Citizens should notjust benefit from the outcomes of decisions but from direct engagement in decision making of parliament. Participationstrengthens, deepens and enriches individuals’ understanding and appreciation of their own capacities and enhancestheir ability to work productively with others. Thus systematic monitoring through Assessments of this nature shouldgenerate focused and robust public debate.It is also hoped that this Assessment will contribute to the ‘strengthening of the oversight functions of Parliamentfor accountable service delivery, as contained in Strategy 3 of the Parliament of Uganda 5-year Strategic InvestmentPlan (PSIP) 2012-2017.82 The Social Contract, Book III, Chapter 15: Deputies or Representatives.3 The Social Contract, Book III, Chapter 1: Government in General.4 Holding Members of Parliament Accountable 2006 pp. xiiiUGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament1.3 Process and methodology of this AssessmentTo have a comprehensive performance picture of the 9th Parliament in its first three years, the Assessment comprisedfour main parts. First, building on the Citizens’ Manifesto Charter for Parliament that is derived from the CitizensManifesto, monitoring indicators were generated for the process. The second part comprised a desk review ofavailable data and reports from plenary and respective committees of parliament, the Hansards and other availablereports from civil society, media and academia. The third part comprised informant interviews of key actors fromGovernment, Parliament, Academia, Civil Society as well as media. This phase also comprised the generation ofcommunity perspectives through stratified focus group discussions from active citizens in 35 districts currentlyinvolved in implementation of the Citizens Manifesto.1.3.1 Desk review and assessment frameworkThe Assessment scrutinised the documentary evidence within the institution of parliament to obtain and makeavailable to citizens evidence of performance or otherwise of Parliament as an institution. This included data fromthe Parliament watch index, an attempt to track the progress of Parliament in fulfilling the Citizens demands in thecitizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament.Based on the data obtained in the desk review, the performance of the 9th parliament was grouped and scored for thepurpose 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 performanceof parliament and in the delivery to citizens’ expectations. A higher value and weight of up to 70% of the totalperformance score was attached to the Essential category and was respectively distributed to the different aspects ofthe 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 aspectsof the three relevant standards. Finally, one standard was graded as desirable with a weight of 5% of the totalparliamentary score in the delivery of the citizens’ expectations.1.3.2 The Methodology for Regional ConsultationsA 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 studywas required to give their perceptions on the 9th parliament’s performance on each of the 11 standards contained inthe 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 wereengaged 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 aspectsof 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 anotherset of/, respondents were selected from at least 3 Sub Counties evenly. In each district, a total of 40 respondentswere interviewed. At least 2 LC3 Chairpersons, 5 LCV Counsellors, 5 CSO leaders, 5 Youth Councillors, 5 Localgovernment technocrats, 5 Women politicians, 5 ordinary citizens, 3 persons with disability and 5 others includingthe business community and faith-based organisations were covered, making a total of 1,400 respondents. In totaltherefore, 2450 respondents were interviewed.UGMP September 20149

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament1.4 Mandate of ParliamentThe Parliament of the Republic of Uganda is made up of a single House, the National Assembly, with a Speakerelected from the members of Parliament. This is the main legislative body in which elected and appointed Membersfrom all over the country meet to draft, debate and pass laws/legislation through which the institutions of governmentendeavor to guide the country’s progress and ensure good governance. Parliament derives its roles/functions fromChapter Six of the Constitution of Uganda.The three main parliamentary functions are; oversight of government business, legislation and representation. Theseare derived from the provisions of the Constitution of Uganda which provides in Article 79 that Parliament shall havepower to make laws on any matter for the peace, order, development and good governance of Uganda. In additionParliament undertakes the following functions:• Provides, by giving legislative sanction to taxation and acquisition of loans, the means of carrying out thework 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 importantthat these duties are diligently conducted in order to satisfy the nation’s expectations. Therefore, timely reviews andassessments are needed in order to establish whether parliament is on track with its functions and its duties to thecitizens. This report gives an assessment of what parliament has actually managed to accomplish and the tasks it hasundertaken in order to meet citizens’ expectations as enshrined in the Citizens Manifesto and is keen to identify gapsthat need to be addressed. Snapshots of the findings are presented in the matrix that follows in the next section:10UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentPart 2Presentation of findingsThis Matrix presents key findings of the 9th Parliament’s performance for last 3 Years, based on the 11 Standardsin the Citizens’ Manifesto Charter for Parliament.KeyIndicator Percentage range Scale scored Explanations76% to 100% Excellent Substantive Positive actions56% to 75% GOOD Moderate Positive actions36% to 55% MODERATE Limited Positive action0 to 35% POOR minor actions or Stagnation/RegressionUGMP September 201411

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament12Standard 1: Repeal all anti people, undemocratic, redundant, as well as obnoxious legislations to ensure a humane legal regimefor all citizens, Civic Organizations, Business and State InstitutionsUGMP September 2014Standard 1 is anchored on Uganda’s National Constitution in the following provisions; Article 79 (1) –of the Constitution statesthat Parliament shall have power to make laws on any matter for the peace, order, development and good governance of Uganda.Article 79(2) Parliaments shall have power to make provisions having the force of law in UgandaArticle 79(3) Parliament shall protect this Constitution and promote the democratic governance of Uganda.Article 248, which establishes the Law Reform Commission, also mandates it to submit annual reports to Parliament. Suchreports should inform parliament as to laws that need reforms, amendments or repeal to suit current democratic norms andprinciples.Constitutional & other Legalobligations of the institutionof ParliamentRating Gaps RecommendationsKey findings ofspecific actions takenby the 9 th ParliamentCitizens’ anticipated actionsfrom the 9 th Parliament• Review the Penal Code(provisions as identifiedin this report) toharmonize its currentcontroversial andobsolete legal provisionswith the NationalConstitution.POOR The following laws that are considered as impeding oncitizens rights continue to be applied:• No evidence ofaction taken by the9 th Parliament torepeal and amendthe existing lawsthat have been usedto oppress,undermine andabuse Citizensfundamental Rights1. Expected actions on Citizens’rights2. 1. To repeal, and amend all badlaws;• Unconstitutional provisions in the Penal Code Act.• Sections contained in the Interception ofCommunications Act.• Sections in the Press and Journalism Act.• Sections of Anti- Terrorism Act• Sections of the Bill of Rights that violatefundamental human rights (i.e. the death penalty).2. To promote the protectionand enjoyment of allfundamental human rights.• Timely action on reportsfrom the Constitutionalreview commission3. To entrench rule of law andpromote good governance.• Review the NGOAmendment Act 2006 toensure compliance withthe Constitution of theRepublic of Uganda, andharmony with the NGOpolicyPOOR • Repressive sections of the NGO Amendment Act 2006and its statutory regulations were neither amendednor repealed.• No evidence ofsubstantive actionstaken by the 9 thParliament toaddress the citizens’expectations.Expected action on CivicOrganizations4. Legislate on creating anenabling legal environmentfor effective and efficientfunctioning of CSOs.• More collaboration withCSOs in the formulationand strengthening themonitoring andimplementation ofhuman rights andrelated laws.5. Amend the NGO ActAmendment Acct 2006 and itsstatutory regulations.6. Collaborate with CSOs tostrengthen the monitoring ofthe implementation of humanrights and related laws.

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament• Review the tax laws toinclude measures thatdirectly protect andpromote the growth oflocal SMEs.• Review the current lawsto provide for theprotection andpromotion of localinnovations, and talentGOOD • While it can be argued that the tax laws amended bythe 9 th parliament have positively impacted on theeconomy (with more foreign direct investmentsattracted in this period), majority of the new taxeshave placed a heavy tax burden on the poor as wellas small &medium size enterprises that pay up to47% of their gross margins compared to 5% of thebigger enterprises that enjoy tax exemptions• Eight laws passedi.e. Income tax(amendment) Act,2012 and; the excisetariff (amendment)Act 2012 and 2013;the east African excisemanagement(Amendment) act,2012; and the ValueAdded Tax(amendment) Acts2011, 2012 & 2013Expected actions on Business1. Review, amend and repeal theexisting laws to create anenabling environment for asmooth running of businessenterprises and local industry.2. Institute measures thatpromote and protect localinitiatives, innovations speci.alskills, talents and Art industry• Rationalize and increaseresource allocation tostate institutions.• Budget allocation to government institutions like thepublic service, prisons, judiciary etc is inadequateresulting to their inefficiency and poor service deliveryGOOD• Increase oversight andvigilance on stateinstitutions for moreeffective and efficientservice delivery• Undue influence from the executive is cited as one ofthe reasons for the inefficiencyEighteen Acts passed 12. Expected actions tostrengthen StateInstitutions• Legislate on and provideoversight towards creatingeffective and efficientfunctioning of stateinstitutions.• Appropriate budget tofacilitate and supporteffective, efficient andsustainable running of stateinstitutionsThese include: the Uganda National Bureau of Standards Act No. 10, 2010; the Capital Market Authority Act No.12 of 2011; the national population council Act, 2013; the UgandaCommunications Regulatory Authority Act, 2012; the Local governments Act 2013; the Finance Acts 2011, 2012 & 2013; the Stamps Act, 2011; the Value Added Tax Acts, 2011, 2012 & 2013;the Income Tax Acts, 2011, 2012 & 2013; the Excise Tariff Acts 2011, 2012 & 20135UGMP September 201413

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentStandard 2: Protect Uganda’s National Interests including at Regional and International levels, by promoting peace and security,protecting Uganda’s diverse cultural heritage, preservation of the dignity of every Ugandan and economic interests,protecting Uganda’s Natural Resources as well as enhancing Uganda’s Human Capital development:• From the perception survey 63.3% of Ugandans felt that government is doing enough for peace and security in the country while thosewho answered in the negative were 28.9 % and 6.2% were not sure as the rest refrained from giving any answers• Another 44.1% answered yes when asked if they had seen or heard of the parliament conducting oversight visits to insecure are as, both nationallyand regionally or conducted public hearings on citizens’ security concerns while 44.1% answered NO, and the rest, 10.5% refrained from giving any answersCitizens’ anticipated actionsfrom the 9 th Parliament1. Expected actions on Peace& Security• Resolving some of thenational, regional andinternational conflicts;• Ensuring territorial integrity,peace and Security i.e. amongEAC member states, DRC,South Sudan, Somalia andCentral Africa• Effective supervision ofperformance of state securityinstitutionsKey findings of specific actions taken bythe 9 th ParliamentFindings:• MPs have continued to raise statementsconcerning peace and security e.g.during debate on the State of the NationAddress (May 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)as well as motions e.g.• Seeking explanation on deployment ofUPDF and UPF in foreign countriessuch as the Republic of South Sudan,CAR• On the plight of the formerly abductedchildren and persons affected by theLord’s Resistance Army 2014• On deployment of UPDF in SouthSudan and the Status of forcesagreement.• The alarming youth unemployment, asa source of increased crime and nationalinsecurity, were also discussed.Verdict Gaps RecommendationsGOOD• Inter district border conflict(i.e. Siroko/Kapchorwa;Katakwi/Karamoja;Amuru/Adjumani;Kabarole/Ntoroko; Migingocontinue to loom• JLOS as one of the mostenabling sectors of nationalpeace, justice and security inUganda have financing gaps,• Budget shares further indicatethat 50.56% of the total sectorbudget 2013/14 is allocated toUganda Police Force, followedby Uganda Prison Services(13.79%) and Judiciary only(10.88%). The least share isallocated to Judicial ServiceCommission (0.42%) andUganda Registration ServicesBureau (0.50%), which are twovery critical players in thesector.• Increased vigilance of thePolice Force has generatedfurther responsibilities forsister institutions such asUganda Prison Services, DPPand Judiciary, whose budgetallocations, unfortunately, haveremained static.• Parliament needs to revisethe budget to adequatelysupport the Justice Law andOrder Sector (JLOS) toenhance policy and legalreforms; provide access toJLOS services and institutea human rights andaccountability functionamong JLOS institutions.The increased budget willassist JLOS to handle itsmajor challenges ofcorruption and shortage ofstaff.• Parliament shouldstrengthen measures toaddress incidences ofcorruption among all stateinstitutions. Given that inthe Inspectorate ofGovernment (IG) report of2011, the Uganda PoliceForce was branded as themost corrupt institutionfollowed by the Judiciary.The East African BriberyIndex 2011 rated theUganda Police as the mostcorrupt in the five EastAfrican countries.Corruption increases thecost of public servicedelivery and implementationof public projects, besideseroding public confidencein the institution.14UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament6 Refer to supplementary budget schedule No. 1 FY 2012/13 tabled on 9th April, 2013• The increased responsibilityamong other JLOSinstitutions, has called for asupplementary budgetamounting to Ushs. 47.85billion, which was about 9%above the allocated sectorbudget for FY 2012/13. 6• The Executive continues toundermine Parliament on thedeployment of UPDF as it hasbeen sent to other countrieswithout the (in some occasions)with retrogressive approval ofthe parliament.• This has been seen to underminethe security of other nations andat the same time compromiseUganda’s national security• Parliament should institutea monitoring team toidentify and addresschallenges that prohibitinstitutions fromimplementing laws.According to the GlobalIntegrity report of 2011,Uganda was rated at 98%for having the requiredlegal framework in place,but rated at 51% for actualimplementation of the same.• Many institutions lackindependence and operateunder restrictions, while forsome it is the lack of humanand financial resources. Toimprove predictability andcertainty of the legalframework, law reformshould go hand in hand withenforcement of laws.UGMP September 201415

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentProtection and Promotion on Uganda’s Natural Resources: From the perception survey, only 26.6% felt that the 9th parliament was effective in herefforts to conserve and manage Uganda’s natural resources on behalf of its citizens while 61.7% answered in the negative, 9% were not sure and therest refrained from giving any answersExpectations on Naturalresources:• The 9 th Parliament passeslegislations and makesparliamentary resolution aswell as appropriating onbudgets on natural resourcesmanagement.• Legislates on appropriateenvironmental mitigationmeasures.• Mining legislative actions andoversight mandates.• No of resolutions directinggovernment to resolve waterissues.• No of summoning of relevantministries related to waterresources, No follow up onviolators of the environmente.g charcoal burners, wastedumping companies.• No of amendments to lawsrelating to the environmentand natural resources.• Four Laws passed under this areaincluding: the Petroleum Refining,conversion, transmission and midstreamstorage Act, 2013 ; the GeographicalIndications Act, 2013; the Petroleum(exploration, development andproduction) Act, 2012; the UgandaNational Meteorological Authority Act,2012• While two Bills were underconsideration including: The UgandaWildlife Education Center Bill; and theUganda Wildlife Research and TrainingInstitute Bill, 2013• The Parliamentary Committee onNatural Resources in 2013 observedand recommended for the followingactions: that the National Tree-Plantingand Forestry Act be reviewed tostreamline the management of Nationaland Local Forest Reserves.• That NEMA and NFA should recruit andtrain its own 250 Environmental Police toprotect forests and wetlands• That government provides UGX37,599,000,000 as required, in a phasedmanner to enable the Ministry conductgeological mapping in Karamoja regionGOOD • The Petroleum laws were passedhurriedly despite opposition fromsections of experts and civilsociety against provisions such asSections of the Oil and Gas Lawsthat gives more powers to theMinister.• The same law limits theoversight role of parliament inthe upstream sector• The mineral sector continues tobe grossly underfunded despiteits potential to the country.• The Ministry has been allocatedUShs 3.59 billion in theFY2013/14 for airbornegeological and geophysicalmapping of the Karamoja region.• However to effectively conductairborne geological activities, theMinistry requires UShs 34billion.• Compel government toregularly submit reports onenforcement of theenvironmental and othernatural resource laws.• Parliament should empowerregulatory bodies byincreasing financing andoversight on theirperformance.16UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament3. Expectations on Culturalinstitutions Resolve the question of unevenallotment of resources and thepreferential treatment extendedto some cultural institutions overothers by the executive. Develop procedures& legislativeresolutions on the return &facilitation of all culturalinstitutions properties Resolve through publicmitigations and dialogue thesimmering disharmonies andconflicts among culturalinstitutions Facilitate through budgetallocations and laws thedevelopment and protection oftraditional values and heritageFindings Specific laws in line with protectionof the cultural heritage were passedincluding the Anti pornographyAct, and the Anti-homosexualityAct, amidst wide criticism fromrights activists and theinternational community. Questions were raised on measuresgovernment has put in place toprotect all the important antiquities,cultural and historic sites in thecountry on the list of alltraditional/cultural leaders that arerecognized and facilitated by theGovernment and indicate theirrespective jurisdictionsMODERATEGaps Some sections of the AntihomosexualityAct are criticised forviolating human rights The passage of the Anti-Pornography Act attracted differentinterpretations by the public who insome instances took it uponthemselves to women purported tobe dressed in a skimpy manner The Institution of Traditional orCultural Leaders Act 2011 is beingchallenged for infringing oncultural leader’s rights ofexpression, assembly andassociation, and its non conformityto Article 246 of the constitution ofUganda. Budget allocation to traditionalinstitutions remains very small tosupport their functioning.Recommendation: Parliament shouldendeavor to respect itsown procedures whileexercising its mandate,e.g. on issues to do withquorum. The Antihomosexuality Act andPublic OrderManagement Act forinstance were passedwithout the requiredtwo thirds majorityquorum.4. Protection of Ugandans dignity & national economic interests. From the perception survey only 36.7% feel Parliament has done enough in facilitating agriculture for the local citizenry while 50% were dissatisfiedwith government’s response, 9.8% were not sure and the rest refrained from giving any answer. The survey further revealed that 61.7% feltunsatisfied with legislation providing tax holidays and other incentives to foreign firms and businesses in efforts to attract foreign direct investmentwhile 23% answered in negative, 10.5% were not sure and the rest refrained from giving any answer. Field findings further indicate that only 17.9% of the citizens were satisfied with the 9 th parliament’s efforts in enabling legal frameworks andbudgetary actions towards helping Small and Medium Scale Enterprises involving the ordinary citizens while 37% were not. Another 12.9% felt thatparliament provides the necessary legislation and budgetary support geared towards solving unemployment challenges faced by Ugandans.Citizen expectations onUganda’s dignity and economicinterests: Review the tax exceptions policyon foreign businesses and put inFindings: Four Acts passed under this area,including: the industrial property Act,2013, the Companies Act no.1, 2012,the Insolvency Act, No.14 of 2011, andGOOD Gaps: Funding to agriculture hasremained very low yetUganda is largely an agrarianRecommendations: Revise the policy provisionsfor the business communityand regulatory framework forbusiness operation start upUGMP September 201417

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliamentplace tight conditions. Review the tax policies that havemade it very expensive for localSMEs and citizens including a47% tax burden. Review the legal procedures thathave continued to hinder localsfrom starting business. Enact laws, resolutions andpolicies that protect indigenousinnovations, art, industries andbusiness. Undertake measures that protectUganda’s business interests andbusinesses abroad. Raise current budget allocationsto agriculture up to 10% of thenational budget.the Accountants (Amendment) Act2012. Six bills in the offing i.e. the ChattelsSecurities Bill, 2009; the Anti-Counterfeiting Goods Bill No. 22,2010, the Free Zones Bill 2010, theInvestment Code Bill, 2010, the PublicPrivate Partnership Bill, 2010, the saleof Goods and Supply of Services Bill,2008. A motion of parliament to authorizegovernment to borrow USD $100million from the InternationalDevelopment Association of the WorldBank Group to finance theCompetitiveness and EnterpriseDevelopment Project A motion of parliament to introduce aprivate member’s bill on Land andAgricultural Development Bank Motion of parliament to authorizeGovernment to borrow US $ 5 millionfrom the ISFD to support the Dry landIntegrated Development Project inKaramoja Motion of parliament on theinequitable admission criteria ofStudents at Makerere University,Kampala 2014 Policy measures have been designed toimprove business environment andreduce the cost of running business,consultations to establish a One Stopeconomy implying thatagriculture has a huge impacton the economy. Agriculture budgetallocations not in tandemwith Comprehensive AfricaAgriculture DevelopmentProgramme (CAADP)declaration target of at least10%, allocation of theNational Budget, theagricultural annual budgetalso falls below the NDPtarget of 4.0%. Inflation in Uganda is forinstance driven by food pricesas evidenced in the 27.2%weight given to food inflation.The high lending rates haverestricted access to credit aslending rates are still as highas 23.1%. Public debt continues to growat alarming rate, an increasein external borrowing rose to$5.6billion in 20137 whichplaces us in the top rank ofhighly-indebted countrieswith questionable capacity topay. As of 30 th April 2011, thetotal domestic debt resultingfrom issuance of Governmentsecurities by Bank of Ugandafor monetary purposes wasUGX 3.87 trillion, However,7 Uganda Debt Network, “Issues paper on Uganda’s Debt Status, June 2002/2003-June 2011/2012”7 Uganda Debt Network, “Issues paper on Uganda’s Debt Status, June 2002/2003-June 2011/2012”and protection, increasingdomination of importedmanufactured products thataffect local productioncapability and businessregulatory inefficienciesamong others. Parliament should causegovernment to direct publicexpenditure to moreproductive areas of theeconomy like Agriculturewhich is the country’s majoreconomic backbone. This willboost economic growth andreduce public debts andborrowing. Strengthen monitoringcapacity of parliament tooversee the performance ofvarious economic sectors andstate agencies especially thosethat have had poor budgetabsorption capacity that affectservice delivery. Parliament needs to reviewsome Acts in order to enablethe efficient management ofpublic debts. For instance thePFAA (2003) should bereviewed to prescribe specificpenalties/punitive measuresfor public servants whocommit Government toborrowing over and aboveallocated budgetary resources.The Debt Strategy of 200718UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament3. Enhancing Uganda’s HumanCapital development Increase budget allocations to thesocial and productive sectors. Andthat it meets the international andregional protocols andcommitments on budget. Make parliamentary resolutionsthat Pressure government andespecially ministry of education toreview the education policy andcurriculum to meet with currentjob needs and world standards.Centre ;fast-tracking bills laid beforeParliament; comprehensivelyreviewing business licenses andelimination of redundant businessregistration procedures ;andestablishing an electronic licensesregistry to serve as a repository for allapproved business licensing Questions rose in the flow regardingthe fruit factory pledged bygovernment to the farmers of Teso andthe measures put in place to first trackits establishment. QuestionsmodalitiesAgriculturalProgrammeOn the implementationof the Markets andTrade Improvement Parliament demanded government tointervene to save the situation ofcotton farmers in the country. Substantial amount of moneyborrowed was channeled to productivesectors like agriculturetotal domestic arrears peakedin 2006, where the totaloutstanding domestic arrearswere Uganda shillings 622bn.Over the last nine years,domestic arrears (excludingsalary & pension) constitutedabout 58.6% while salary andpension arrears constituteabout 41.4% of the totaldomestic arrears. As a result of consistentincrease in domestic debtresulting from issuance ofGovernment securities, thetotal interest paid to holdersof these securities has beenincreasing over the years,from an annual cost of UGX271.4bn in 2007/8 to UGX514.7bn in 2011/12 and aprojected value of UGX713.9bn in 2012/13.Findings:GOOD In addition to poor grades in Passed the Building Control Act,the education sector, high pupil2012classroom ratio and lack ofmotivation of staff as seen in Five Bills under considerationthe poor pay for teachers,included: the Immunization Bill,Parliament has not done2014, the Tobacco Control Bill, 2014,enough to demand MOE tothe Higher Education Studentsfasten the review of theFinancing Bill, 2013, the Hotel andeducation curricula to integrateTourism Training Institute Bill, 2013,other critical aspects of humandevelopment like skill Several motions presented such as ondevelopment e.g. sportsPWDs inclusion in physical educationactivities, intervention on the Above all, the education systemalso needs to be reviewedsince the existing one expiredin 2012. Parliament should promotethe private sector throughinfluencing commercialbanks to revise theirinterest rates to better suitelocal investors. Fasten the process to passnew business Policy beingfast tracked Parliament should demandgovernment to increase thebudgetary allocations to thewages of the teaching andmedical staff to give morale Parliament should pass aparliamentary resolutiondemanding the ministry ofEducation to introduce agender desk in each schoolthat deals with the issues ofthe young adolescent girlsand children with disabilities.UGMP September 201419

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament20 Parliament should tightenmonitoring of the health andeducation sectors to ensurequality of service delivery.is not properly aligned to theneeds of the labor market andthe human resources needed fortransformation of the entireeconomy.increasing cases of Hepatitis B virusin Uganda, the fight against Malarialeading to formation of theparliamentary forum on malaria, andaggressive advocacy forimplementation of the Mama Kit, Monitor with close interest thesocial sector ministries to ensurequality service delivery to allcitizens especially quality ofeducation, quality of healthservices.UGMP September 2014 Parliament should increaseits vigilance on budgetmonitoring for all sectorsincluding the Water andSanitation sector Infant and maternal mortalityrates are still high whileUganda still has no nationalhealth care insurance schemefor all.reduction of mother to childtransmission of HIV/AIDS, and thestatus of orphaned and vulnerablechildren, teenage pregnancies Monitor the observance ofinternational and local labor Lawsby foreign companies There were also commendable stridesin Parliament’s action on increasing There is also a noticeable lowBudget Absorption rate inwater and sanitation sectorwith only 6.7% of the 31.221billion allocated for the last FYspent, yet no visible actionfrom Parliament on itsoversight over the sectorallocation for MOE andbudgetpassing of the policy on Business,Technical and Vocational Educationand skilling Uganda(BITVET)program. Tighten laws and regulations onlabour exports and undertakemonitoring to establish conditionsof Ugandan citizens employedabroad Increased budget allocation to waterand sanitation sectors. Accordingly citizens perspectives show that 28.1% felt the current legislation strengthens and enhances citizens’ standards of living while when asked53.1% responded in the negative, 13.3% were not sure and the rest refrained from giving an answer or did not have enough information to do so. The overall score for standard 2 according to desk review indicate that on a scale of 0 to 15, the 9th parliament scored 13.3 representing substantiveprogress due to substantive actions undertaken.Standard 3: Institute reforms to ensure a level political playing field to realize free and fair elections. Thisshould address abuse of the incumbency factor, opening of political space and dissolution of parliament andcouncils three months to election Electoral Commission (EC), is mandated by the Constitution to organise and conduct free and fair elections as stipulatedunder Article 61 (1) (a) of the Constitution and section 12 of the Electoral Commission Act Cap 140, as amended.In accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution; (see also Section 13 of the Electoral Commission Act Cap 140, as amended)the EC is supposed to be independent and not subject to the control or authority of any person.Constitutional & other Legalobligations of the institution ofParliamentScores Gaps Recommendations Parliament should embracethe citizen led free and FairElections Campaign and On the contrary laws passed bythe 9 th Parliament such as thePublic Order Management ActMODERATECitizens’ anticipated actions from the 9 th ParliamentKey findings of specific actions takenby the 9 th Parliament2. 1. Electoral management Body 1. Electoral management Body Pass a law that Institutes a truly Some of the actions taken by the 9 thindependent and competent Parliament so far include: a proposal to

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliamentelectoral commission acceptableto all political actors & thecitizens. Amend/repeal or institute a newLaw to address persistentreported electoral malpractices,and mismanagement of electionprocesses and outcomes. Increase budget allocations to theelectoral commission.raise the minimum formal educationalrequirements for any person seeking tobecome a Member of Parliament,questions on the lack of funds for LC I& II elections, on 11 th April 2012, andvisiting some of the areas of electionviolence and conducted public hearing. Some Members and organs ofParliament such as the Office of theLeader of Opposition have howeverbeen actively engaged in the differentelectoral reform processes suchCampaign for Free and Fair Electionscoordinated by Political Parties andCivil Society, and the CCEDU leddrafting of Election reform billshave impeded citizen ledprocesses demanding forreforms in the election It is expected that the same lawwill inhibit freedom ofmovement by some politiciansin the run up to the 2016electionsadopt the recommendationsin the new electionmanagement compact that isbeing crafted as part of thisprocess.Field findings from the studied population indicates that, only 21.2% agreed that the 9 th parliament has done enough to provide level ground for theelectoral commission to conduct free and fair elections while 36% of the responses were negative2. TheandPower of incumbencylevelling the politicalplaying field: Trim the influence and powers ofincumbencydemocraticoversightactions.on the electoralprocesses through& tight legislative Demand government to giveequal funding to all politicalparties. Provide mechanisms that addresselectoral malpractices associatedto the incumbency such asmilitarization of elections, excessuse of money and abuse of office.Findings: Parliament summoned the Ministerfor the Presidency to appear beforethe committee on the crises in KCCAand the continued arrest of the Mayor The Inspector General of Policesummoned to appear before theparliament to explain the arbitraryarrests of leaders of oppositionleaders and their supporters A Ministerial statement demandedand presented by Hon. ArondaNyakairima, Minister of InternalAffairs explaining the blocking ofrallies by civil society and politicalparties on Free and Fair Elections,and committing to ensure that theblocking stopsMODERATE A lack of public financialsupport to all political parties(includingopposition/opponents) does notfacilitate free and fairelections/democracy. It was observed that the lack ofPresidential term limits andpresence the military inParliament are a recipe for arelikely to impede objectivediscussion on the differentelectoral reforms whenpresented in Parliament Make parliamentaryresolution directinggovernment tooperationalize the PPOA onpublic funding of politicalparties. Consider proposal fromcitizen led processes such ason the Free and FairElelctions Campaign andthe CCEDU led Electoralreform agenda. Theseinclude: repealing Section14 of the Political Partiesand Organizations Act toincrease on the sources ofparty financing i.e. externaldonors, reinstatement ofpresidential term limitsscrapping armyrepresentation in parliamentUGMP September 201421

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliamentamong othersFrom the Citizens’ survey, only 20.5% agreed that the current parliament made contributions towards promoting democracy, in the areas of:controlling the power of incumbency and leveling the playing field for all political entities while 33.7% disagreed. Only 16% were aware of anyparliamentary investigations or hearings undertaken to ensure effective functioning of the electoral commission in addressing reported inefficienciesand malpractices in the electoral process while 37.2% were not aware of this.Overall, only 13.40% of the respondents were satisfied with the performance of the 9 th parliament towards standard 3 and on electoral reforms asillustrated in figure 12 below.Standard 4: Review the current mechanism of determining emoluments of MPs to make it transparent, affordable and equitablein relation to other public servants’ remunerations.Constitutional & other Legalobligations of the institution ofParliament The current legal framework under which MPs emoluments are paid is premised on Article 85 (1) of The Constitution,which provides that a Member of Parliament shall be paid such emoluments and such gratuity and shall be provided withsuch facilities as may be determined by Parliament. Parliament (Remuneration of Members) Act Cap 259 also provides for the remuneration of MPs. Section 5 of the Actpermits Parliament to amend the Schedule to the Act from time to time.Citizens’ anticipated actions fromthe 9 th ParliamentExpectation on Emoluments ofMPs The 9 th parliament reviews thecurrent mechanism ofdetermining the emoluments ofMPs and makes it equitable inrelation to other public servants’remunerations. Create a transparent mechanismfor reviewing emoluments andallowances of MPs to avoidpotential conflict of interestsEmoluments of other publicservants Amending existing law and pass anew and fair law on salaries andwages.Establish a competent policy andKey findings of specific actions takenby the 9 th Parliament1. Emoluments of MPs A motion to introduce a PrivateMember’s Bill – The ParliamentaryPensions (Amendment) Bill, 2014 The UGX 120M that was extendedto each of the MPs to buy cars and Over UGX 1 Bn spent to buy I Padsfor MPs apparently to save paper2. Emoluments of other publicservants Deliberations on the RetirementBenefits Sector Liberalization Bill,2011 ongoing in Parliament No substantive engagement on theScores Gaps RecommendationsPOOR It has become common forParliament to review andamend this schedule to suitMODERATEtheir selfish interests. Parliament is also the only armof government that determinesits own salaries andemoluments, there byundermining their ownlegitimacy to question others Beyond lamenting on thesorry state of other publicservants’ remuneration andemoluments during the stateo the nation address, andAnnual Budget debate, noconcrete action has been taken .Detach the Office of MPfrom the individual to ensurecontinuity when the MPleaves office, but also itseffectiveness while still inoffice. This should includeGovernment taking over theperchance and managementof the office, and relatedbenefits such as officialvehicle for the MP Legislate to establish a SalaryReview Commission to enablethe public sector set paymentstandards for all public officersand civil servants. Legislate on establishing aminimum wage for all22UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliamentmechanism to undertakeHarmonization, fairness, equity andaccountable provisions with checksand balances in the emoluments forall employees in the country (asalaries review commission) Appropriate budget to facilitate theestablished review mechanism andsubsequently meet the newlyharmonized salaries, emolumentsand wages.needs for review the salary scale andinstitute reforms in civil and publicservice. Parliament pressured government toincrease salaries of teachers andmedical workers by insisting not topass the sector budgets if they do notcomplyby Parliament within itsmandate.employees. Consolidate the on-goingreforms in the pension sectorthrough strengthening theregulatory framework for theentire pension industry According to the citizens’ survey, only 4% felt that parliament was transparent in the determination of their emoluments 14.3% disagreed, and therest preferred not to answer. On the other hand, 50.4% of the respondents felt that parliamentarians received more remuneration than they deserved while only 35.8% feltotherwise. Only 7.2% agreed that the MPs emoluments were fair and equitable in comparison to others in the civil service while 18.6% disagreed. And finally, only 19.6% of the respondents agreed that the 9th parliament was accountable for the resources they receive and spend on behalf of thecitizenry while 32.5% answered negative. With overall performance of the 9th Parliament, only 12.20% of the respondents were satisfied her actions towards standard 4 while 55.6 insisted ontheir dissatisfaction.Standard 5: Become more accountable to their constituencies for all resources received from the national resource envelopincluding emoluments, and donations from external sources on behalf of their Constituency and the country.Constitutional & other Legalobligations of the institution ofParliamentCitizens’ anticipated actions fromthe 9 th Parliament1. Management The leadership code of conduct established under Article 233 of the constitution requires all Public officers to declare theirincomes, assets and liabilities from time to time and how they acquired them. The Leadership Code Act 2002 under its second schedule recognizes Members of Parliament as public officers who mustaccount for their resources and are subjected to procedure under the Act.Key findings of specific actions takenby the 9 th Parliamentof the Findings:consolidated fund and In addition to moving a moving aScores Gaps RecommendationsMODERATE Sections of the finance bill Enact strong measure thatundermine the effective tighten leakages in theUGMP September 201423

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliamentaccountability to citizens. Amend existing laws to institutecontrols and regulate managementof national treasury andconsolidated funds. Reject retrospectivesupplementary expenditurerequests by the executive Task the IGG to involve Citizensin the process of wealthdeclaration by public officialsSanctioning of public borrowing &debt ceiling That the 9 th parliament sanctionsborrowing and approves publicloans within the premise of thelaw. Establish criteria for ratingexternal and local borrowing. Establish a sustainable and easyto service debt ceiling to regulateborrowing. Institute stringent penaltiesagainst officers involvedresponsible for unauthorizedborrowing of internal & externalloans. Conduct effective monitoring ofimplementation of projects onborrowed loans to ascertain valuefor money. Direct more budgetaryallocations and borrowed loans tomotion of resolution to regulate theoil sector 10 th October 2011, andanother motion to carry out an auditof the energy sector on 20 th July2011, MPs rejected budget fromenergy ministry on power tariffs20 th July 2011. The Finance Bill (Amendment) Bill,2011 was also under considerationby Parliament by the time of thisAssessmentFindings: A Ministerial statement presentedby Hon. Matia Kasaija on loanssignedapproval.without Parliamentary Except for the EAC debt ceilingstandard requiring that no memberstate should borrow above 50% of itsGDP, there was no evidence of the9 th parliamentary actions taken toregulate borrowing Different Parliament committeesconducted several audits ofgovernment projects to ascertainvalue for money for loans. Parliament also labored to ensurethat loans were channeled toproductive sectorsfunction of the legislature innational financial controls Management and controls onnational treasury andconsolidated fund remainweak, facilitating leakages Caucusing to protect corruptindividuals by the rulingparty, retrospective approvalsand supplementary budgets,and weak accountability toconstituencies has sustainedthe misuse of public fundsGOOD The 9 th Parliament is reluctantto avail information to thepublic regarding publicmanagement and funding. Forexample, the prudent processesfor loan acquisition based onparliamentary consultationsand approval or discussion ofoil production sharingagreements in the publicremained a challenge.unauthorized borrowing of Establish legal mechanisms Ironically, it is the Executive inUganda that seems to take leadin making the public sectoropaque, a situation that makesthe population more apathetic,self-censoring and resignedfrom participation in publicaffairs Not keen to enforce elaboratecriteria for rating external andlocal borrowing, and failed toinstitute stiff penalties againsttreasury and guard againstmismanagement of publicfunds Create avenues throughwhich the public can accessinformation on variouspublic funds and parliamentprograms. The 9 th Parliament shouldcompel IGG to make publicthe details of wealthdeclaration by publicofficialsto regulate debt ceiling. Institute stringent penaltiesagainst officers involved inunauthorized borrowing; Establish a mechanism foreffective and regularmonitoring and value formoney audits for loans24UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliamentproductive sectors (Education,Agriculture, health,infrastructure)internal & external loans byrespective departments ofgovernmentField findings from the studied populations reveal that some 23.2% of respondents know of or have witnessed visits by parliament of government programs toascertain value for money while 41.3% did not.Standard 6: Protect and respect fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizens of Uganda including rights of association andexpression, by recalling all unconstitutional laws.Constitutional & other Legalobligations of the institution ofParliament The three cardinal roles of parliament under the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda are; legislative, representative andoversight. In the enactment of laws Parliament must be mindful of the Constitutional safeguards on fundamental rightsand freedoms of Ugandans. In the performance of their legislative function, parliamentarians must be mindful that the Constitution remains thesupreme law of the Country and if any enactment of any law or any custom is inconsistent with any of the provisions ofthe Constitution, the Constitution shall prevail, and that other law or custom shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, bevoid. 8 Every law should be subjected to the Bill of rights under chapter four of the Constitution which sets comprehensivestandards upon which fundamental rights and freedoms should be protected, respected and upheld. In the same vein, Article 248 which establishes the Law Reform Commission also mandates it to submit annual reports toParliament. Such reports should inform parliament as to which laws need reforms, amendments or repeal to suit currentdemocratic norms and principles. The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights 1981 provides under Article 13 that “every citizen shall have the rightto participate freely in the affairs of the government of her/his country either directly or through freely chosenrepresentatives in accordance with the provisions of the law. Similar expressions are found in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. At the international level, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 (UDHR) provides that everyone has the rightto take part in the government of his country directly or through freely elected representatives. 9 It further provides for themeans through which citizens can express their will. 10 The above provisions are codified by Articles 25 (1) (a) and (b) of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In light of the above provisions, the wishes and demands of the citizens to their duly elected representatives are wellfounded since it is an avenue through which they can fully participate in the affairs of government.Citizens’ anticipated actions fromthe 9 th ParliamentKey findings of specific actions takenby the 9 th ParliamentScores Gaps Recommendations8 Ibid Article 92 (2)9 8Article Ibid Article 21 (2) 92 of (2) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 194810 9Article Ibid Article 21 (2) of 21 the (2) Universal Declaration of Human Rights 194810 Ibid Article 21 (2)UGMP September 201425

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentUpholdinghuman rightsstandards by parliament. Establish a human rightscommittee of parliament. Make resolutions and directivesbased on the Uganda HumanRights Commission reportsStringent actions on human rightsviolators Amend Constitution and otherexisting laws to strengthen themechanism for bringing HumanRights perpetrators of humanrights abuse and violations, Sanction respective ministersand heads of leading offendinginstitutions to explain andaddress the reported humanrights violationsPeace & transitional justice Pass resolutions to approvenational peace and reconciliationpolicy and make legislations ontransitional justice to address HRabuses,Findings: A Human Rights Checklist adoptedin 2013 for Parliament to follow asa guide in order to uphold humanrights standards and principles inthe passing of laws. A standing Human RightsCommittee was established and inplace for the first time, under the 9 thparliament. Motion to introduce a privatemembers bill on Law Revision(Penalties in criminal matters)Miscellaneous Amendment Bill,2013 The National Council for Disability(amendment) Act 2013 passed Transfer of Convicted Offenders ActpassedFindings: Two Acts passed i.e. the Preventionand Prohibition of Torture bill,2010, and the Anti-Human TrafficAct 2013 Two reports discussed i.e. Report onthe Petition of Ugandan women whowere taken to work in Iraq, andreport on the Petition of traffickingof women and sexual slavery inUnited Arab Emirates, India andChinaFindings: Motions on compensation andresettlement of the women affectedby the proposed government planfor the construction of the oilrefinery in Buseruka Hoima, as wellas one on the plight of the formerlyGOOD The 9 th parliament highlycontradicted its self byimmediately passing the highlycontroversial Public OrderManagement Act one monthafter developing the HumanRights Check list. The 9 th Parliament has beenseen to pass some bills whichdirectly and indirectly inhibitfundamental rights andfreedoms of the citizens; covertlaws like the AntihomosexualityAct and theAnti-pornography Act thatcould be used by the regime toinitiate tramped up chargesagainst its opponents.GOOD Marriage and Divorce Billshelved after heateddiscussions leaving room forkey human rights issues likesexual and domestic violenceMODERATEto go unabated NGO Amendment Act 2006that potentially impedesoperations of NGOs still inforce Inadequate monitoring ofimplementation of laws likethe Prevention andProhibition of Torture Bill2010 No evidence of the Lawpassed on mandatorytransitional justice. No evidence of approvedpolicy to guide theimplementation of transitional The 9 th Parliament shouldreview all the unconstitutionallaws on compliance with theNational Constitution, andapply the human rightschecklist.ie RepealsectionsOrder(POMA)the unconstitutionalof the the PublicManagement Act Review the sections in thePenal Code (as identified inthis report) to harmonize itscurrent controversial andobsolete legal provisions withthe National constitution Act on the reports of UHRCand increase their budget. Review the NGO AmendmentAct 2006, to harmonize it withthe NGO Policy theconstitution Support and facilitateMinistry of Justice andConstitutional Affairs tohandle matters oftransitional justice. Pass a parliamentary26UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament Increase budget of ministry ofjustice to paycompensation/reparations to pastvictims or survivors of humanrights abuses.abducted children and personsaffected by the Lord’s ResistanceArmy Questions raised on governmentcompensation plans for the people ofTeso for their animals’ stolenDuring the UPA and Kony wars,and on victims of the revolutionaryfreedom fighters of Uganda 1971 –1985 Masindi Portjustice. resolution directinggovernment to initiate a lawand policy on transitionaljustice.1. The field findings from the studied populations reveal that only 47.7% of the respondents felt that the freedom to associate, assembly, opinions and movement hadimproved while 56.1% disagreed.2. In addition, only 26% of the respondents felt that the 9 th parliament had done enough to address the reported difficulties faced by the citizen organizations likearrests, harassment and intimidation as they performed their duties while 37% of the respondents felt otherwise3. Overall, only 8.60% of the studied population was satisfied with the performance of the 9 th Parliament towards standard six, this is illustrated by figure 9 below.Standard 7: Decisively check executive excesses and tackle the financial indiscipline of the executive in public interestConstitutional & other Legalobligations of the institution ofParliament The 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda provides that all public resources shall be held in trust for the people. Allpersons in positions of leadership and responsibility shall, in their work, be answerable to the people. All lawful measuresshall be taken to expose, combat and eradicate corruption and abuse or misuse of power by those holding political andother public offices. Parliament of Uganda plays a very important role in matters of management and control of PublicFinances. The budget and expenditure of public funds by the National Government is subject to authorization, approval and controlby the Parliament. This role is always played through the different committees that are set up in parliament. These includeStanding committees and session committees. The committees are given various roles including reviewing for purposes ofapproval of reports from government departments and ministries like the Uganda Human Rights Commission, UgandaPolice Force, Uganda Peoples Defence Forces, Uganda Revenue Authority, Public ServiceCitizens’ anticipated actions fromthe 9 th Parliament According to Article 90 (4) of the Constitution; in the exercise of their functions committees of Parliament—among otherduties may call any Minister or any person holding public office and private individuals to submit memoranda or appearbefore them to giveKey findings of specific actions takenby the 9 th ParliamentScores Gaps RecommendationsUGMP September 201427

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentFinancial excess Control growing lavish andwasteful expenditure of statehouse and ministries. Regulate and monitor performanceon budget discipline of theexecutive and particularly oncontinued failure to live within theagreed budget allocations. Amend existing laws to check,strengthen and tighten financialleakages and excessesexecutiveof theFindings: The Finance Act 2006 (Amendment)Act, 2012, and the AppropriationsAct, 2013 passed Bills under consideration included theFinance Bill, 2013, and theSupplementary2013Appropriations bill, Several ministers and heads ofdepartments, institutions, and agencieswere summoned in order to accounti.e. officials from OPM, Ministersaccused of oil bribes, the GovernorBOU etc. Parliamentary Committee on Financeto oversee the performance of theMinistry of Finance, Planning andEconomic Development was set up. Public Accounts Committee continuedto play a visible role and looked intothe expenditures of different ministriesand public officialsMODERATE The new Finance Bill seems to Desist from makingundermines its integrity topay less attention to the role of the Parliament in public retrogressive approvals ofpublic expenditure decisions.financial management andparticipation of stakeholders in the budget process. Amend the law to make thespeaker of Parliament anindependent one who should The 9 th Parliament has failed to institute stiff penalties on the not be an elected MP ormember of any political party.accused corrupt officials; Amend Clause 21 (6) of the Cases of ministers claiming to Public Finance Bill, 2012 onhave stepped aside for supplementary budget to stateinvestigations have flopped as they still undertake their duties even when claiming to be off duty.that all supplementaryspending is approved byParliament, and to remove theprovision for retrospective The state house expenditure hasapproval of supplementarycontinued to grow lavishly andspending.wastefully. Publicise budgetary processesand insist on transparency and Parliament has failed to spearheadpublic interest litigation budget process in order topublic participation in theagainst excesses of the executive maximizepeople-centrede.g. when government tookoutcomes.money from consolidated fund Institute and toughen onwithout approval of parliamentimplementation of penaltiesto pay donors for PRDP fundsfor financial mismanagementstolen by interdicted officials.by the executive and public The Executive has used the servantsNRM Party caucus to Repeal Article 156(2) of theundermine the parliamentary 1995 Uganda Constitutiondecisions regarding financial which provides retrospectiveappropriations and management approval of supplementaryand curbing the culprits of such expenditure as it facilitatescases.impunity and government Members of Parliament have excesses.also been accused of takingbribes which casts doubt on theindependence of Parliament and28UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentPoliticalexcessesand administrative Censure and or reduce budgets toleading offending ministers andhead of institution who over steptheirpowers,constitutional and legal Investigate and Impeach the Headof State if found culpable forpolitical and human rightsexcesses of his government. Punish those notorious forrepeated financial indiscipline orthose who are responsible forcausing financial lose togovernment. Parliament passes resolutionsdirecting the executive to increasebudgets to inspectorate andinvestigative departments andagencies to effectively monitor theexcesses of government Spearhead public interest litigationagainst excesses of the executiveFindings: Several issues that requiredParliament’s action were presentedby Members of Parliament included:the Freezing of the Nubian GroupAccounts, irregular allocation ofland in Teso, the pending eviction ofresidents of Got Apwoyo Village inNwoya District, matters pertainingto the mismanagement of KCCA,closure of Primary TeachersTraining Colleges and on thelegality of the agreement appointingEasy Bus as agents to operate thebus services in KampalaMetropolitan area by the KampalaCapital City Authority Parliament also received responsesfrom Ministers such as: a statementon the arrest of Dr. Kiiza Besigye byHon. Hilary Onek, a statement byHon. Kabakumba Masiko onallegations of stolen UBC equipmentthat were found at her radio station,and a statement on unfulfilledpledges by the governmentpresented by the first deputy PrimeMinister and deputy Leader ofGovernment Business Rt. Hon.Moses AliMODERATEcheck excesses of the executiveThe 9 th Parliament has failed tocheck political and administrativeexcesses of the executive in thefollowing areas: In creating districts withoutfollowingthe constitutionalorder. Excessive use of the instrumentsof coercion such as police, theUPDF, tear gas and harassmenton members of the oppositionand on ordinary citizens duringby elections Use of tax payers’ money to runNRM Party activities like NRMcaucus meetings, NRMRetreats, National Conferenceand NEC Meetings, and use ofgovernment media Use of publicmedia like UBC to cover theNRM party by over 80% whiledenying the opposition space. The unnecessary creation ofpolitical jobs such as numerouspresidential advisors, RDCs, andtheir overbearing activities likeinterference in land conflicts,and public meetings. The 9 th Parliament throughpromotional democracyshould strengthen publicinstitutions of justice toprotect citizens as theyexercise their democraticrights. In addition public officerswho abuse their politicaloffices and suppressdemocratic processes shouldbe sanctioned or recalledby ParliamentUGMP September 201429

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament Interference in theparliamentary process throughsubjective caucusing, andprotection of suspected corruptpublic officersField findings from the citizens’ survey reveal that only 18.6% of studied respondents think that Parliament is doing enough to regulate the excesses of the executivewhile 34.4% do not think so.Over all, only 8% were satisfied with the performance of the 9 th parliament towards standard 7 as shown in figure six.Standard 8: Decisively fight corruption and public resource abuse by acting on reports from statutory institutions andcommissions on public expenditure and management and supporting anti-corruption agencies in the fight against corruptionConstitutional &other Legalobligations ofthe institutionof ParliamentCitizens’ anticipated actions fromthe 9 th Parliament According to Article 90 (4) of the Constitution; in the exercise of their functions under this article, committees of Parliament among otherways may call any Minister or any person holding public office and private individuals to submit memoranda or appear before them to giveevidence The institution of the Office of the Auditor-General is created by the Constitution and the National Audit Act 2008 to act on behalf of thecitizens of Uganda, in providing an independent assurance on the use of public resources (Article 163 of the Constitution. Expenditure reports from government departments including Local Government11are audited by the Auditor-General and tabled inParliament. The accountability cycle ends in Parliament with the review of the Public Accounts and the Auditor-General's ReportsKey findings of specific actions takenby the 9 th ParliamentScores Gaps Recommendations11See Section 88 of the Local Government Act 1997 as amended11 See Section 88 of the Local Government Act 1997 as amended30UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentCitizen ExpectationsParliamentary Actions to fightcorruption Amend existing legislation tostrengthen investigations andrecovery of missing assets andfunds Pass parliamentary resolutionsthat result into more rigorousinvestigations by PAC andparliamentary committees. Summon and publicly questionrespective ministers and headsof corruption ridden institutionsin order to hold themaccountable, and Censure then iffound culpablesupport to other anti-corruptionagencies Pass parliamentary resolutionsthat result into more rigorousinvestigations by otherinstitutions like the IGG,Auditor General, DPP, andPolice Review and allocate increasedbudgets to IGG, Police, DPP,and Auditor General Offices.Findings: Tabled a motion to introduce a PrivateMember’s Bill – The Anti-Corruption(Amendment) Bill, 2012 The 9 th Parliament has in place vibrantcommittees i.e. PAC, COSASE andLocal Government’s AccountsCommittee PAC interrogated public officials,contributing to prosecution of publicofficials found culpable in differentaudits such as in the Office of thePrime Minister, Ministry of PublicService among others The 9 th Parliament also maintains theAfrican Parliamentarians Networkagainst Corruption (APNAC) that aimsat controlling corruption.Findings: Three laws passed; the Anti- MoneyLaundering Act, the Accountants(Amendment) Act 2012; and the Anti-Counterfeiting Goods Bill No. 22,2010, Two bills under consideration; theAnti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill,2013, the Uganda National Bureau ofStandards (Amendment) Bill No. 10,2010GOOD Failure to concretely deal withsome powerful public officialssuch as Permanent Secretariesand Ministers implicated incorruption scandals. Theseinclude the former PS of OPM,and Ministers implicated in oilbribery scandals.EXCELLENT No law to enable citizens, civicassociations and localauthorities to participate inmonitoring the centrallyawarded contracts. Several allegations have beenmade about a number of MPsfor engagement in corruptionrelated activities and receivingbribes,executiveincluding from the Corruption continues to persisteven in the presence of a legalframework and the Anticorruptionlaws. The 9th parliament has notadequately increased budgetallocation to facilitate anti-graftinstitutions such as IGG,Police, DPP, and AuditorGeneral office Compel the Executive tofully enforce section 63 of theAnti-Corruption Act 2009relating to confiscation andfull recovery of assets andmonies lost to corruptionannually. This will makecorruption a risky venture toengage in. Institute new or amendexisting ant-corruption lawsto enable citizens, civicassociations and localauthorities to participate inmonitoring the centrallyawarded contracts. The 9th parliament shouldalso act as an exemplary armof government by bringingMPs alleged to have takenbribes, including from theexecutive to book. Extensivelyengage otherarms of government like thepolice, the CriminalInvestigations Department,Internal SecurityOrganizations or eventhrough appeals to the publicto provide information orthrough application ofprovisions of the WhistleBlowers Act by using specifiedincentivesFrom the Citizens survey, it emerged that only 29.6% of the studied populations thought the parliament was performing adequately in the fight against corruptionand theft of public funds while 39.4% felt otherwise. Overall, only 17.70% of the study participants were content with the with the overall performance of the9 th Parliament towards standard 8 in the last three years as figure seven illustrates.UGMP September 201431

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentStandard 9: Institute measures to make parliamentary decisions consultative and accountable to citizens in a bid to increaserelevance and ownership of such decisions.Constitutional & other Legalobligations of the institution ofParliament Article 1 of 1995 constitution stipulates that all power belongs to the people and the people can excise this power directlyor indirectly through their representatives Article 79 of the Constitution obligates and empowers Parliament to make laws and promote democratic governance ofUganda among others on behalf of the citizens of Uganda. This means MPs are responsible to their electorates besidesbeing accountable for whatever transpires in the parliamentary chambersCitizens’ anticipated actions fromthe 9 th ParliamentParliamentary own actions Implement effective andcomprehensive Parliamentaryoutreaches in order to take theparliament closer to the people; Review or amend legislation andmake resolutions to increase andstrengthen parliament- publicinterface; Institute parliamentary open days; Establish a dedicatedparliamentary TV and radiostation with live broadcasts; Establishplatformcitizens;an interactive ICTto engage with theKey findings of specific actionstaken by the 9 th ParliamentFindings:The 9th Parliamentfollowing actions;undertook the Conducted Four Parliamentaryoutreaches to various sub regions toenhance public participation inparliamentary affairs Initiated an on-going process toestablish independent ParliamentaryTV and radio that will furtherenhance public participation inparliamentary affairsScores Gaps Recommendations The 9 th Parliament has not yetofficially gazettedParliamentary open days forthe public to participate andhas not yet committed toInternational Open Parliamentdeclaration. The current parliamentary ICTplatform is not interactive forthe citizens to effectivelyparticipate, follow andcontribute to the parliamentaryproceedings and debate Review the Official SecretsAct of 1964 to cascadeopenness and transparency,and provide sufficient checksand balances and mitigateabuse of office andcorruption. Expedite the processes ofestablishing requisite andappropriate institutionalframeworks forparliamentary Radio and TVbroadcasts and make ICTplatform interactive. Parliament should sign andbe party to open parliamentdeclaration. Conduct field oversight visits andengage citizen groups to obtainfeedback and evidence of policyand program implementation.Parliamentary partnerships Findings GOOD The public has been denied some Establishment of32UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliamentcitizens; Conduct field oversight visits andengage citizen groups to obtainfeedback and evidence of policyand program implementation.Parliamentary partnerships Findings GOOD The public has been denied some Establishment of Develops a mechanism of workingwith civil society organizations toincrease citizens’ constructiveengagement with parliament. Develop mechanism and makepublic for citizens’ interest groupsandconstituency delegations tovisit parliament; Parliament signs a commitment tothe Open Parliament Declaration. Grants easy access to parliamentaryinformation Signed a partnership MOUs withCivil Society to strengthencollaboration on parliamentarymatters Received close to 60 petitions fromcitizens’ associations, individuals,civil society, faith basedorganization and political parties. Responded to at least 20 petitionsin the last three yearsinformation for instance theprudent process for loanacquisition based onparliamentary consultations anddiscussion of oil productionsharingchallengeagreements remain arequisite and appropriateinstitutional frameworksto enhance the capabilityof citizens to participatein decision makingThe Citizens survey reveals that findings from the studied populations reveal that only 24.2% of the studied population feels that Parliament effectively consulted andinvolved the public on issues of national and local importance while 40.4% disagreed. Also only 14.1% indicated that Parliament had undertaken outreaches in theirlocal area and instituted public access to parliament systems and facilities while 31% responded in the negativeStandard 10: Decisively review the special interest group representation in light of a multiparty dispensation and start on aprocess that will increase their relevance in political party structures while phasing them out of affirmative actionrepresentation.Constitutional &other Legalobligations of theinstitution ofParliamentCitizens’ anticipated actions fromthe 9 th Parliament Article 78 (1) of the Constitution provides for the Composition of Parliament to include members directly elected to representconstituencies, one woman representative for every district, such numbers of representatives of the army, youth, workers, persons withdisabilities and other groups as Parliament may determine; Other constitutional guarantees are provided for in Article 36 under the protection of minorities. The article states that, “Minorities havea right to participate in decision making processes, and their views and interests shall be taken into account in the making of nationalplans and programmes Clause (2) of Article 78 provides that upon the expiration of a period of ten years after the commencement of this Constitution andthereafter, every five years, Parliament shall review the representation under clause (District Woman Members of Parliament and thearmy, youth and other marginalized group representations) for the purposes of retaining, increasing or abolishing any suchrepresentation and any other matter incidental to it.Key findings of specific actions takenby the 9 th ParliamentScores Gaps RecommendationsUGMP September 201433

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentThe citizen expect the 9 thParliament to; Undertake her constitutionalmandate to review therepresentation of special interestgroups The 9 th parliament passes new,reviews and amends existinglaws to strengthen theparticipation of special interestgroups in political parties in aview to widen and increase thescope of their participation. Parliament undertakes widerconsultations with all specialinterest groups and gathers theirviews on how best to improveand make it better andsustainable their representationin decision making. Makes resolutions and budgetallocations towards the specialinterest groups' representation . Statements and questions raised onthe status of Parliamentary specialinterest groups. 7 th December 2012,21 st February 2012 Uganda Women’s ParliamentaryAssociation (UWOPA) carried forth tothe 9 th Parliament to discuss, share andsupport activities to enhance womenMembers of Parliament participation inparliamentary decision makingprocesses. Uganda Parliamentary Forum forchildren (UPFC) is in place. The women members of parliamenthave been very instrumental inpursuing gender related legislationsand issues in parliament. Uganda Young ParliamentariansAssociation is in place that brings allyoung parliamentarians together topursue issues affecting young people.POOR No direct action has beenconducted by the 9 thParliament to address thedemands of this standard Has not reviewed the status ofspecial interest groups’representation in the house asmandated by law. Review special interestgroups as mandated by law(after every 5 years) That an independent indepthstudy of theperformance and impact ofthe interest groups beconducted to aid the reviewby parliament.In relation to the overall performance of the 9 th Parliament towards standard 10, 55.9% of the studied respondents felt the special interest groups were unnecessary inparliament while only 22.6% disagreed, and 17.6% did not give feedback.Standard 11: Parliament and its members is expected to represent all the standards of good leaders-good leaders are honest ,have compassion, promote unity, are God fearing, and act so, respect the value of institutions, respect the rule of law, admitwrong and take responsibility, are tolerant of divergent views, are peace makers and exemplaryConstitutional &other Legalobligations of theinstitution of The Government, Chief, the Chief Opposition Whip and the other Party Whips are provided for under sections 6(h), 6(j) of theAdministration of Parliament (Amendment) Act, 2006. The members of Parliament’s conduct are also guided by the Leadership Code Act 2002 which spells out conduct befitting for publicofficials. In addition, the Code of Conduct for members of parliament under the Rules of Procedure 2012.ParliamentCitizens’ anticipated actions from Key findings of specific actions taken Scores Gaps Recommendations34UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliamentthe 9 th Parliament by the 9 th Parliament1. Mechanisms for disciplineand ethical behavior Establish a code of conduct forparliamentarians within andoutside the parliament. Make parliamentary resolutionsand administrative policy aimedat improving performance,ethical behaviour of MPStowards strengthening theinstitution1. Enforcingethical standardsand good leadership Regularly review andstrengthen adherence to theparliamentary rules ofprocedure, general code ofconduct. MPS fully comply with theprovisionscode'.of the 'leadershipFindings: A code of conduct is in place formembers of parliament. Government and Opposition chiefwhips in place to check the conductof their members in and out of theHouse. A Standing Committee on rules,discipline and privileges is in place. Statements and questions raisedconcerning the unethical conduct ofsome of the MPs.Findings Report on the conduct of Hon. TonyNsubuga Kipoi Feb 2014 Two Members of Parliament losttheir seats out of misconduct ormissing sessions. In particular Hon.Tony Kipoi, and Gen. David Sejusalost their seats. The Deputy Speaker was criticizedfor “unfairly” ordering for theviolent eviction of one of theMembers of Parliament, Hon.Semujju NgandaGOOD MPs often shown fighting andyelling in the floor ofparliament and tearing ofpapers is unethical and a senseof intolerance to divergentviews. The overwhelming andirrational use of numbers bythe ruling party to pass anticriticizesdecisions promotesdisunity and is a recipe formisrule and violence.POOR There is a worrying deteriorationin the conduct and discipline ofMembers of the 9 th Parliament.Not only is the number of MPsengaged in criminal activities onthe rise, but also poor behaviour inthe August House. Notable caseswere of An MP arrested for wantingto blow-up a bridge inAgago, MPs reported to besupporting rebel activities, MPs involved in drink drivingoperations and assaultingpolice officers Absconding from duty andperpetual absenteeism Lavish spending of MPs ofpublic finances is in itself anact of mismanagement. Issues of alleged bribery ofMPs by executive continue tobedevil the 9 th ParliamentParliamentary standards ofbehavior should reflectinternational standards as wellas customs and ethical values Toughen the cost for MPsthat engage in differentforms of misconduct. Employ citizenrymonitoring systems tomonitor the conduct ofMPs. Members of parliamentshould conduct themselvesin public interest and do soin a manner that meetssocietal expectations andethical behavior, which isimportant to develop publictrust. From the Citizens survey, only 31.5% of respondents felt that the 9 th Parliament espoused good qualities of leadership and conduct while carrying out theirexpected duties and roles while 31.7% disagreed. 8.9 of the respondents were not sure while 27.9 posted no feedbackUGMP September 201435

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament• From the Citizens survey, only 31.5% of respondents felt that the 9 th Parliament espoused good qualities of leadership and conduct while carrying out theirexpected duties and roles while 31.7% disagreed. 8.9 of the respondents were not sure while 27.9 posted no feedback• About 78% found the office of speaker to be exemplary and effective in its roles and duties to parliament while those who answered in the negative were11%.• Only 22.9% of the respondents felt that the Deputy speaker performed his duties with effectiveness and diligence in the parliament while those who feltdissatisfied with his performance were overwhelmingly 61.3%.• Meanwhile 55.1% of the respondents felt satisfied with the manner in which the office of the Leader of Opposition conducted their business in parliamentwhile 30.8% responded in the negative.• In the same manner, 27% of the respondents were satisfied with the performance of the leader of Government business in the 9 th parliament but 42.2% werenot.• And finally, 30.1% were satisfied with the performance of the Government chief whip of the 9 th Parliament; however, those who responded in the negativewere 39%.36UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentPart 3Conclusions & RecommendationsIn 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 CitizensManifesto. Some of these were elected to the 9th Parliament, contributing to the total of 365 MPs. Following this, thespeaker of Parliament on behalf of Parliament signed a Memorandum of Understanding with citizen organizationsled by the Uganda National NGO Forum and the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC). As part of this MOU, aCitizens Manifesto Charter for Parliament was presented and accepted as a standard upon which the institution ofParliament would be assessed.Based on the above, the 9th Parliament is obligated to uphold the demands in the Citizens’ Manifesto that are translatedinto 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 inalmost all the 11 standards.Despite commendable strides made on a number of areas, Parliament of Uganda still has a range of improvements tomake in its functioning. The main challenge, noted like with other public obligations, has been with the managementand implementation of these amended bills and planned activities to meet the standards. There are varying perceptionsabout the performance of the 9th Parliament from the citizens in all 11 standards.Source: Field Survey on Performance of ParliamentThis section presents the key conclusions and recommendations made as part of this audit. The recommendations andconclusions are intended to augment the Performance of the 9th Parliament and the sessions that will follow. Theseare presented in relation to the three main functions of Parliament; legislative function representation, and oversight.3.1.1 Legislative RoleOver the past three years, the 9th Parliament has discussed and passed several laws some of which affect fundamentalrights and freedoms in Uganda. In the exercise of its legislative function, parliament is not only limited to laws, Billsand policies that are presented before them. They can look at laws already passed and propose review and amendmentsfor them.UGMP September 201437

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentIn its first session, the 9th Parliament was able to pass up to 11 bills and adopted 23 bills that were not concluded by the8th 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, Transportationand Storage) Act 2013, The Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act 2011, the prohibition and preventionof torture Act 2012, the supplementary appropriations Act, the Industrial Property Act 2012, which seeks to protectUgandan 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 aredeemed unconstitutional or barely meet standard 1 of the citizens’ manifesto. It is also noted that several Membersof Parliament demonstrated ignorance and either made meaningless contributions or desisted from participating indebate 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 subsequentpassage• Parliament should endeavor to respect its own rules and procedures while legislating and desist from actingin a manner that could be viewed as emotive. In particular the two thirds majority should be observed beforeany law is passed.• Parliament should also ensure that individuals who do not contribute to debate when a law is beingdiscussed 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 themon the proposed business schedule for the next session of the 9th Parliament in order to align its work planwith Standards in the CPPU.• Session Committees should be more vigilant in pursuing bills relevant to their docket & use their mandate toinitiate Private Members’ bills.• Increase sharing of information and enhance knowledge and the skills base for MPs on the how-toundertake gender audits, budget analysis & application of human rights standards when reviewing billsunder their portfolio.• The 9th Parliament should take leadership as expected under Standard No. 11 to initiate the discussionon the reduction of the size of Parliament in order to make it more cost effective and efficient. A debate onthe composition of Parliament should begin in the Second Session of Parliament so that relevantConstitutional amendments are undertaken & the review of the electoral laws is prioritized by the 9thParliament before the end of 2014.• Finally, Parliament should listen to Citizens concerns over certain legislations such as the Public OrderManagement Act, the NGO Act, and the Anti Pornography Act and repeal them as has been demanded bypopular citizen groups and organizations.3.1.2 Representation and ParticipationThis assessment finds that Parliament has done a commendable job in the fight against corruption. The differentAccountability Committees such as PAC and COSASE have not only labored to expose but also in some instancesfollowed through the culprits to ensure their prosecution. Parliament has been credited mainly for investing andexposing the excesses of the executive and areas where public officers failed to pay due diligence to protect Uganda’sinterests which had led to the country losing billions of shillings in questionable compensations or outright theft.38It is also notable that the different parliamentary committees provide MPs with more opportunities to participateeffectively in the business of Parliament compare to the House sessions where a member has only three minutes withinwhich to submit his / her comments on an issue on the floor of the House. However, regular attendance remainedUGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliamentelusive in the case of some MPs and the major concern was also on substantive participation. The bad practice ofsome MPs signing in with the Clerks and then leaving the sessions shortly after was reported. It was also found thatmajority of MPs agree that the size of Parliament has reached unsustainable levels and has become a cost burden tothe 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 citizeninterests. To start with, the expectations by Citizens of their Members of Parliament still seem to be at a variancewith the roles and responsibilities of MPs. Several MPs interviewed for this assessment complained of continuedrequests for money, and other handouts to meet school fees and social obligations. This has not only encroached onMPs 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 Parliamentarysessions, 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 offeringover 100,000,000 shillings for purchase of vehicles. Both expenses have been widely criticized by Ugandans fromvarious 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 onlycrippled 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 Parliamentarybusiness to be decided upon in the NRM caucus. Caucusing and collective action should only be encouragedthrough 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 andunderstand the work and operations of Parliament• Parliament should work with Civil Society to conduct citizen education for increased public and voterawareness about actual role of a Member of Parliament and the institution of Parliament in order toharmonize people’s expectations with the constitutional role and mandate of Parliament.• The Clerk’s office & Business Committee should strictly monitor MPs attendance & participation in plenarysessions & 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 floorof Parliament and ensure that disciplinary measures are taken for absenteeism without appropriate noticeand permission.• The Government Chief Whip and Leader of Government business should be carefully selected as these arethe chief mobilizes of ministers and MPs. The purpose is to ensure that the MPs holding these positionshave the experience, knowledge and the right skills-mix to effectively mobilize MPs to participate in plenaryand committee sessions.• The review of the policies and laws on representation should be prioritized with the aim of working outa new formula for equitable representation to reduce the size of Parliament and as a strategy for increasingthe effectiveness and efficiency of Parliament. With 112 districts, it would be sufficient for each one of themto have just one representative in Parliament• Appointments of MPs to Select Committees/ Ad hoc Committee should comply with all dimensions ofrepresentation including the minimum 1/3 principle for gender representation.UGMP September 201439

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament3.1.3 Oversight RoleThe 9th Parliament is commended for its vibrancy in terms of oversight. Despite some challenges, differentParliamentary Committees played a central role in investigating the excesses of the executive and where ministersand public officers failed to take due diligence in their work and decision making processes in order to protect theinterests of the people. However some of the respondents to this assessment exercise expressed concern about theslow process of investigating some of these cases, as well as the capacity for Parliament to ensure that the culprits arebrought o book.It was noted that while the Speaker of Parliament Hon. Rebecca Kadaga performed very well in the by introducingnew practices such as an Annual Schedule as a key planning tool for Parliament as an Institution as well as for the MPsto manage their time better, she also faced some constraints which made it difficult for her to steer the August houseindependently. On certain occasions she is quoted as having participated in debates on some critical issues, and evenpublically declared passage of laws consider3ed as controversial. This not only damaged her image internationallybut also cast as someone that had taken sides with one group against another, yet she ought to have been neutral. TheSimilar criticisms were made about the Deputy Speaker who passed numerous laws without quorum such as the PublicOrder Management Act and sometimes used confusing legal language to trick MPs into passing laws they wouldn’totherwise have passed.It is also noted that Parliament as an institution has been criticized widely for failing to act on allegations of bribery ofits own Members especially when suspected to be engineered by the ruling party. For instance, Parliament has failedto convincingly clear allegations of Members of Parliament receiving over UGX 110,000,000 to promote H.E. YoweriMuseveni 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 dedicatetheir 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 eachannual 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 sectorsthat 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 9thParliament. It is recommended that the approval of the estimates of the MOH for the FY 2012/ 2013 besubjected to thorough scrutiny by the new Parliamentary Committee on Heath and MPs should use thebudget review process to obtain a full Report on the state of health in Uganda so that the priorities in thebudget 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 peopleof Uganda on actions or measures taken to implement parliamentary decisions/ resolutions.• Political parties/ organizations should desist from any attempts of reversing decisions made in Parliamentthrough party caucusing or any other unconstitutional means. Instead they should strive to uphold StandardNo. 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 tomanage 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 personsimplicated in the Committee reports tabled before Parliament on cases of corruption investigated & culpritsduly punished including those found guilty of abuse of office in the President’s Office. It is important thatsomeone takes responsibility for the numerous cases of abuse of public office and failure for government totake due diligence when handling public affairs and resources.40UGMP September 2014

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th Parliament• The appointment of various ministers & other key stakeholders that require approval of Parliament shouldinvolve 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 opportunitiesfor corruption and executive excesses. Bills that are to address this gap should be prioritized in the legislativeagenda in all subsequent sessions of the 9th Parliament.UGMP September 201441

A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th ParliamentUGMP Contact:C/o Uganda National NGO ForumPlot 25, Muyenga Tank Hill Rd, KabalagalaP.O Box 4636, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256 414-510 UGMP 272/+256 Contact: 312 260373C/o Uganda Fax: +256 National 312-260 NGO 372 ForumPlot 25, Email: Muyenga info@ngoforum.or.ugTank Hill Rd, KabalagalaP.O Web: Box 4636, www.ngoforum.or.ugKampala, UgandaTel: +256 414-510 272/+256 312 260373Fax: +256 312-260 372Email: info@ngoforum.or.ugWeb: www.ngoforum.or.ugHURINET42UGMP September4420149 789970 300006