A <strong>Mid</strong> <strong>Term</strong> Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th <strong>Parliament</strong> 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 <strong>Parliament</strong> 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 <strong>Parliament</strong>Citizens’ anticipated actions fromthe 9 th <strong>Parliament</strong> According to Article 90 (4) of the Constitution; in the exercise of their functions under this article, committees of <strong>Parliament</strong> 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 <strong>Audit</strong>or-General is created by the Constitution and the National <strong>Audit</strong> 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 <strong>Audit</strong>or-General and tabled in<strong>Parliament</strong>. The accountability cycle ends in <strong>Parliament</strong> with the review of the Public Accounts and the <strong>Audit</strong>or-General's ReportsKey findings of specific actions takenby the 9 th <strong>Parliament</strong>Scores Gaps Recommendations11See Section 88 of the Local Government Act 1997 as amended11 See Section 88 of the Local Government Act 1997 as amended30UGMP September <strong>2014</strong>
A <strong>Mid</strong> <strong>Term</strong> Citizens’ Assessment of the 9th <strong>Parliament</strong>Citizen Expectations<strong>Parliament</strong>ary 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,<strong>Audit</strong>or General, DPP, andPolice Review and allocate increasedbudgets to IGG, Police, DPP,and <strong>Audit</strong>or General Offices.Findings: Tabled a motion to introduce a PrivateMember’s Bill – The Anti-Corruption(Amendment) Bill, 2012 The 9 th <strong>Parliament</strong> 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 <strong>Parliament</strong> also maintains theAfrican <strong>Parliament</strong>arians 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 <strong>Audit</strong>orGeneral 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 <strong>Parliament</strong> towards standard 8 in the last three years as figure seven illustrates.UGMP September <strong>2014</strong>31
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