Proposal rejected

By Richard Mutumba THE Decentralisation Secretariat has dismissed a proposal by some Members of Parliament to abolish the local government ministry. The proposal was made at a discussion on 'corruption and decentralisation' at the on going Parliamentary Studies Programme Two at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala. "In order to decentralise effectively, we will need a very strong centre. This is the reason we still need a strong ministry of local government," Decentralisation Secretariat chief of financial management, Sylvester Kisembo, said. Kisembo and William Fuller of the United States Aid for International Development were discussants during presentations at the study on decentralisation, Parliament and the media, funded by the British Department for International Development Cooperation and the British Council. Kisembo said the local government ministry could not be scrapped because it played a vital role in decentralisation.