Workers put final touches on the refurbished Queens Way in Kampala on January 8. The fate of 1,442 employees of the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) has gone back to the seesaw after the Executive directed for the tabling afresh of the Unra Repeal Bill, 2024 before Parliament. PHOTO/ ISAAC KASAMANI.
The fate of 1,442 employees of the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) has gone back to the seesaw after the Executive directed for the tabling afresh of the Unra Repeal Bill 2024 before Parliament “to take care of the MPs’ concerns” with the ultimate goal of subsuming the agency under its parent Works and Transport ministry.
The decision comes barely two months after Members of Parliament (MPs) stopped the merger of Unra, but supported a proposal co-moved by MPs Denis Oguzu (Maracha, FDC) and Muhammad Nsereko (Kampala Central, Ind), to amend the 2006 Unra Act to grant the Works minister more executive powers for better oversight.
In voting against the Unra Repeal Bill 2024 on April 23, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among urged the Committee on Rationalisation of Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) to immediately table a Bill that harmonises the salaries of heads of parastatals and agencies before the House following concerns that the Unra executive director, Ms Allen Kagina, is among the top earners in government, which does not apply to all heads of agencies.
On June 20, the Ministry of Public Service Permanent Secretary, Ms Catherine Bitarakwate, wrote to Ms Kagina and 22 heads of other parastatals and agencies advising them to “desist from hiring new staff” and renew contracts due to expire until December 30 in consultation with her ministry and Attorney General’s office.
“In total, 40 Bills were drafted and submitted to Parliament for legislation. Out of the 40 Bills, 23 were passed, while 17 are still pending legislation,” the letter reads in part.
It is expected, Ms Bitarakwate indicated, that the folding of agencies and departments back into their parent ministries would be completed by the end of the year.
Unra, is, however, among the seven parastatals and agencies that MPs voted previously to maintain. Others are the Dairy Development Authority (DDA), National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (Nita-U), Cotton Development Organisation (CDO), National Forestry Authority (NFA), Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), and the National Agricultural Advisory Services (Naads).
The top executives of the other six parastatals, along with the Permanent Secretaries of their supervising ministries, were copied in the June 20 advisory.
Yesterday, Ms Bitarakwate told this newspaper that “there is a reason for that but I am not the best person to tell you anything. Just follow the (distribution) list but also talk to the [Minister of ICT and National Guidance], Dr (Chris) Baryomunsi.”
In a rejoinder, Dr Baryomunsi revealed that the Executive had rejected the retaining of the seven parastatals and directed that the repeal Bills be tabled afresh before Parliament.
“The matter came up before the Cabinet and it was a considered view that the Bills, of agencies that were saved, be amended to take care of the MPs’ concerns,” Dr Baryomunsi said.
He added: “As I speak now the First Parliamentary Counsel is working on the fresh Bills and they will be tabled soon. The new Bills are original proposals containing some modifications, but the intentions of the merger[s] have not changed. That is why we are doing that.”
The directorate of First Parliamentary Counsel hounded under the Ministry of Justice is mandated with drafting all legislation for government.
In effect, it means the First Parliamentary Counsel is working on Bills for collapsing Unra, DDA, Nita-U, CDO, NFA, UCDA, and Naads back to their respective parent ministries.
Dr Baryomunsi did not specify when the Bills will be re-tabled before the House but said “as His Excellency has said this is (merger) something we need to do as soon as possible.”
Dr Chris Baryomunsi, Minister of ICT and National Guidance. Photo/Courtesy
The Executive on February 20 tabled 39 Bills for collapse of several agencies and departments back to their parent ministries. The merger Bills were tabled by the respective ministers, upon which they were forwarded to the line parliamentary committees for scrutiny.
Prior to the start of the process in Parliament, President Museveni held several meetings with his ruling party MPs to convince them to support the mergers, the exercise christened in policy documents as the rationalisation of government agencies and public expenditure, to save Shs1trillion annually.
The government also hopes the move will eliminate duplication of roles and spur efficiency in service delivery and budgetary discipline.
Nita-U
On February 28, MPs voted against the Nita-U Amendment Bill that sought to fold the authority back to its parent Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. Nita-U, the statutory body mandated to coordinate government IT-services.
This followed submission by Mr Tonny Ayoo, the deputy chairperson of the parliamentary ICT Committee that scrutinised the Bill and noted that there was no duplication of roles between the authority and its parent ministry. The committee also approved Nita-U’s budget of Shs123b for the FY2024/2025 that started on Monday.
Sources revealed that President Museveni protested the retaining of Nita-U allegedly with influence of some power brokers.
This newspaper first reported in early May 2018 that in one Cabinet meeting, the President tasked ICT ministry officials to explain circumstances under which Nita-U procured Kenyan company, Soliton Telmec Ltd to manage the National Backbone Infrastructure and e-Government Infrastructure (EGI).
“Who gave my NBI to Soliton? How come this was not brought to Cabinet for approval,” the President reportedly asked.
It is on this basis that he directed that Nita-U be folded back as a department under the parent ICT ministry.
Since early 2024, the President variously expressed displeasure with Nita-U top leadership and senior officials in the ICT ministry over attempts to scuttle the merger deal between the Dubai-based ROWARD Capital Commercial Broker LLC and the newly formed Uganda Telecommunications Corporation Limited (UTCL).
This newspaper reported on Tuesday that the President had read a riot act for officials and given them 21 days ending July 24 to finalise the deal.
Officials inspect Nakwaya Central Forest Reserve in Kiboga District. On April 18, Parliament voted against National Forestry and Tree Planting (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which aimed at collapsing NFA to the Ministry of Water and Environment. PHOTO/FILE
NFA
On April 18, Parliament presided over by Speaker Among voted against National Forestry and Tree Planting (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which aimed at collapsing NFA to the Ministry of Water and Environment. This followed consideration of the report by the committee on Environment and Natural Resources that scrutinised the Bill.
The committee chair, Dr Emmanuel Otaala averred that merging NFA posed threat to the gains made in the country protecting its national forest cover. The authority employs some 364 staff.
Naads, CDO, UCDA
On April 19, Parliament voted against the collapse of Naads, UCDA, CDO, and the DDA back to their parent Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. This followed consideration of the report by the committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. DDA employs about 91 staff.
The MPs reasoned that the agencies, particularly DDA and UCDA were key in fortifying milk and coffee production, respectively, critical in domestic and foreign revenue generation. On Naads, the committee reported returning to the ministry would will lead to reversal of the food security gains form, the committee also revealed they had found government inflated the savings it would make by mainstreaming the entity
Unra
On April 23, Parliament voted against the Unra Repeal Bill that sought to streamline and transfer the functions of Unra to the Works ministry as part of wider restructuring to make the government leaner and more effective and save taxpayers’ money.
Proponents hoped absorbing the Authority, which employs more than 1,442 staff, under the Works ministry would eliminate ambiguities, duplication and waste.
“If we mainstream and all these people come under the main public service structure, we shall be saving Shs39b in wages only per month without taking about other overheads. That is a very big saving and that money can construct a number of roads,” said Works minister Gen Katumba Wamala, failing to sway lawmakers who appeared to have their own mind.
MP Nathan Byanyima (Bukanga North, NRM), who said the Infrastructure Committee of Parliament and midwifed the Bill that led to eventual creation of Unra, on April 23 said disbanding or contracting the entity under its parent ministry would be a “disaster”.
Minister Katumba had submitted to the House that Unra’s wage bill is 71b while the 2,109 staff under the Works and Transport programme cost the ministry Shs90.92b.
Of all the 33 agencies and departments proposed for merger, none captured imagination and attention like Unra which, with Shs2.4 trillion annual budget this year, is a financial elephant in town.
Entities so far merged
Parliament has so far Okayed the rationalisation of the Uganda Trypanosomiasis Control Council, Agricultural Chemicals Control Board, Uganda Meteorological Authority to the Ministry of Water and Environment, while the Warehouse Receipt System Authority was transferred to the Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives
Parliament also approved the merging of the Export Promotions Board and the Uganda Free Zones Authority and merged the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Center (UWEC) with the Uganda Wild Life Authority.
The National Children’s Council, National Youth Council, National Women Council and the National Council for older persons and the persons with disabilities have been returned to the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development.
A farmer inspects coffee. On April 19, Parliament voted against the collapse of NAADS, UCDA, CDO, and the DDA back to their parent ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. Photo/file
Rationale for merger
The plan to merge government agencies was first mulled in 2018. Consequently, the Ministry of Public Service recommended to Cabinet that out of the 157 agencies reviewed, 80 should be retained as semi-autonomous agencies; 33 agencies should have their mandate and functions mainstreamed to their relevant line ministries; 35 agencies should be consolidated or merged into 19 entities.
Cabinet in 2022 gave nod to the experiment, the merger with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) which was folded back into the Ministry of Energy.
Several stakeholders including parliament raised flag about the merger but a parliamentary ad hoc committee in its report issued in February 2022 gave nod to the proposal to merge certain agencies on account of among others duplicated mandates and functions and overlaps amongst agencies, functional ambiguities depicting mix-up of policy, regulation and implementation, un-harmonised legal frameworks within which some of the agencies operate, and bloated structures of some agencies which are not aligned to their mandates.
There are 157 public agencies and 22 ministries, and the Offices of the President and the Prime Minister, respectively.
On February 2, 2024, President Museveni urged MPs of his ruling NRM party to support the merger of agencies and departments arguing that it will save the government Shs1trillion annually.
On February, 20, the Attorney General tabled 39 Bills for merger of agencies and departments which kicked off intensive lobbying by managers of some of the affected entities to be spared the folding.
The 22 agencies told to stay hirings
• Tax Appeals Tribunal
• Uganda Micro-Finance Regulatory Authority
• Privatisation Unit
• Centre for Alternative Dispute
• Uganda Law Reform Commission
• Uganda Nurses and Midwifery Examinations Board
• Uganda Allied Health Examination Board
• Uganda Business Technical Examination Board
• Directorate of Industrial Training
• Management Training and Advisory Centre
• National Agricultural Advisory services
• Diary Development Authority
• Uganda Coffee Development Authority
• Cotton Development Organisation
• Electricity Disputes Tribunal
• National Forestry Authority
• Uganda Road Fund
• Uganda National Roads Authority
• National Information Technology Authority
• Uganda Human Rights Commission
• Equal Opportunities Commission
