Parliament-Watch-Bulletin_Mid-Term-Audit-2014

Recommendations

Info

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
Page 4 and 5: A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment o
Page 6: A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment o
Page 27: A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment o

Parliament-Watch-Bulletin_Mid-Term-Audit-2014

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?