Parliament's COSASE to prioritise backlog of over 150 reports
“While chairing the committee, Nkunyingi added, "I was also informed by the legal team that when these reports are reinstated, we have a full year to handle them. Save for the new reports, which we shall have a six-month period within which to be handled by this committee.”
Kyadondo East lawmaker Muwada Nkunyingi (NUP). (File photo)
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Kyadondo East lawmaker Muwada Nkunyingi (NUP), who is the chairperson of the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE), has announced that the committee will focus on addressing the pending reports left by his predecessors.
“Out of the 158 reports, the committee processed eight value-for-money reports and three financial reports. Save for being processed within the committee, the reports were not tabled or presented to Parliament. As you have seen on today’s order paper, these statutory reports are yet to be reinstated. Meaning we have a backlog of the whole 2024/25. Aware that around December another financial year will be coming through from the Auditor General,” said Nkunyingi on Tuesday.
“While chairing the committee, Nkunyingi added, "I was also informed by the legal team that when these reports are reinstated, we have a full year to handle them. Save for the new reports, which we shall have a six-month period within which to be handled by this committee,” he stated.
He was backed by Kalungu West MP Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu (NUP) who quipped that the practice of handling this backlog is not new.
Nkunyingi added that his team will also request the Parliamentary Commission to give a report on the ongoing construction of the new chambers.
“It is our business to establish how the commission handled such and other matters. Without fear or favour, part of our principal assignment is also to investigate the Parliamentary Commission. Because it is a commission and we are COSASE,” he contended.
“In the business committee, the Speaker briefed us that construction is in advanced stages, that the procurement has been done. A number of items are in some warehouse in Kawempe. I told the clerk that as a committee we must find out the operations of the commission like any other entity,” Nkunyingi revealed.
Reallocated funds, chairperson claims
At the same meeting, Nkunyingi reported that COSASE is yet to receive funds that Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth pledged to re-allocate from his office’s budget.
On various occasions, Oboth has reiterated a directive to channel Sh24 billion of the Sh28.5 billion budget his office received towards strengthening operations of Parliament’s various committees. In the 2026/27 financial year, the committees were allocated Sh45.59 billion from Parliament's overall Sh1.23 trillion budget.
However, Nkunyingi said that as they await the funding, discussions are on about the committee’s draft work plan; without this additional funding, key activities could be affected.
“Our work plan is being totalled at Sh2.769 billion. We have heard a lot of rhetoric by the Speaker (Oboth) that they are going to empower committees. We are not yet aware of the real financial empowerment. The information reaching us, if you look at the work plan, for example, is that as the technical team was being guided on drawing the work plan, for example, on one aspect of travel abroad, the revelation we have is that the parliamentary budget can allow seven members per quarter to travel abroad,” Nkunyingi cited.