Parliament road closed half day

Mar 28, 2008

BUSINESS in Parliament this week was dominated by accountability issues, but the most memorable development might be a storm that made the main entrance to Parliament parking yard inaccessible for 10 hours.

BUSINESS in Parliament this week was dominated by accountability issues, but the most memorable development might be a storm that made the main entrance to Parliament parking yard inaccessible for 10 hours.

The storm, on Wednesday night, felled an umbrella tree across Siad Barre Avenue, which separates Parliament from Radio Uganda. It was not until 2:00pm on Thursday that the tree was removed and vehicles resumed using the gate.

No more CDF for defaulting MPs

As the saying goes ‘a big headed dog is blamed by its master’. So has the Clerk to Parliament, Aeneas Tandekwire, told the Legislators. “MPs who have not accounted for Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from 2005 to 2007 will not get more money,” Tandekwire revealed in a circular to all MPs.

He said out of the 319 MPs who received the money, only 69 MPs have submitted accountability. MPs of the Seventh Parliament representing constituencies and interest groups were paid each sh10m as CDF.

The Public Accounts committee chairman, Nandala Mafabi, asked: “If the MPs cannot account how can we demand accountability from other institutions?”

Special audit on Apac district

Monday turned out a bad day for Apac district officials who failed to account for over sh7b, prompting the MPs to order for a special audit.

The Parliamentary committee on Local Government Accounts recommended for the suspension of Apac district chief administrative officer Stanley Adrabo and the chief financial officer Gapson Yeko Ogwal pending investigations into the mismanagement of the funds.
The officers, who appeared before the committee, failed to account for the money.

Bunyoro King supports Land Bill

Contrary to what some Banyoro have said recently, the King of Bunyoro, Solomon Gafabusa Iguru, supports the Land Amendment Bill, the Government Chief Whip, Kabakumba Masiko, told Parliament recently.

“The Omukama supports the bill because of its objectives. Our King is very clear. He supports the Bill because people are being evicted in Kibale and other areas,” said Kabakumba.

“I have been in my constituency and I admit that there was gross misrepresentation of facts. The way they had understood it from the media is not what is contained in the Bill. Otherwise, there is strong support for the Bill where I have been.”

Rotten seeds suppliers to be punished
MPs do not only legislate on laws, but can also cause punishment of defaulters. They have, as such, recommended the punishment of companies that supplied sub-standard farm implements and rotten seeds to internally displaced people’s camps in northern Uganda. Chillington Tools, New Kisugu Fica and Akuku farm seeds are some of the companies.

A report compiled by the committee that was instituted to look into these, says the hoes supplied by Chillington did not have a standard size.

“China donated junk hoes, hand axes and sickles,” they observed. The report by the agricultural committee on Monday said the tools, dimensions, weight and strength were tested by Uganda National Bureau of Standards and found below the international standards.

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