Government to table Bills on merging agencies
The development comes at the time when the NRM parliamentary caucus last week resolved to support the rationalization of government agencies.
By Our Reporter
Kampala: The Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, has revealed that the government will table bills next week aimed at providing for the rationalization of agencies in four sectors of the country.
The proposed bills include the Rationalization of Government Agencies (Education Sector) (Amendments) Bill, 2024, and the Rationalization of Government Agencies (Internal Affairs Sector) (Amendments) Bill, 2024.
Also to be tabled will be the Rationalization of Government Agencies (Natural Resources and Environment Sector) (Amendments) Bill, 2024, as well as the Rationalization of Government Agencies (Works and Transport Sector) (Amendments) Bill, 2024.
Nabbanja said this during the plenary sitting on Thursday while tabling business that the government intends to bring to Parliament.
The bills come at a time when the government has been put on the spot by legislators over what they termed piecemeal amendments to the Constitution in a bid to merge some government agencies.
Particularly in November 2023, MPs challenged the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2023, that entailed provisions to merge the Equal Opportunities Commission with the Uganda Human Rights Commission.
During plenary at the time, the Minister for Public Service, Hon. Wilson Muruli Mukasa, had committed to engaging the respective Parliament Committees on the agencies being rationalized so as to present a concrete position to the House.
Relatedly, Nabbanja has also listed the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2023, among the business to be brought before Parliament in the succeeding week.
Five other bills on the list include the National Tribunal Bill, 2023; the Uganda Health Professional Regulatory Council Bill, 2023; the Arbitration and Reconciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2024; the Karamoja Development Agency (Repeal) Bill, 2024; and the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
“The Minister for Internal Affairs will also present a statement in the House updating the country on the process and guidelines on the renewal of national identification cards as requested by Parliament,” Nabbanja added.
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