Govt names fourteen new districts
May 19, 2009
THE Government has proposed the creation of 14 new districts. If Parliament approves the plan, the number of the districts will rise to 94 from the current 80.
By Joyce Namutebi
THE Government has proposed the creation of 14 new districts. If Parliament approves the plan, the number of the districts will rise to 94 from the current 80.
The proposal was tabled before Parliament yesterday by local government minister Adolf Mwesige. Mwesige also asked Parliament to approve the creation of the districts, which the Constitution empowers it to do.
Speaker Edward Ssekandi directed the committee on local government to expeditiously handle the matter.
Seven new districts take effect from July 1, 2009. They are: Zombo, Amudat, Otuke, Lamwo, Kyegegwa, Buikwe and Buyende. Four of the districts which start this July are from northern Uganda.
However, Chua MP Livingstone Okello Okello said there was no trading centre called Lamwo but Padibe.
The other seven districts will become effective a year later. They are Namayingo, Luuka, Kiryandongo, Ntoroko, Serere, Mukuju and Kisoko. Mukuju and Kisoko will be curved out of Tororo district, which thereafter ceases to exist. President Yoweri Museveni promised Buikwe a district while campaigning in a by-election there a year ago.
Mwesigye said the new districts would ensure effective administration and bring services closer to the people. In creating the districts, the Government considered their means of communication, geographical features, destiny and the wishes of the people as well as economic viability, Mwesigye said. Besides, he argued, most MPs supported the plan.
Mwesige said the headquarters of each new district would automatically become a town council.
The number of districts rose from 33 in 1980 to 80 in 2006. Five new districts were created in 1997, eleven in 2000 and 22 in 2005 and 2006.
The move has been criticised by donors and civil society as expensive. For instance, the creation of the latest districts means an additional 14 MPs, an equal number of resident district commissioners, 14 district chairpersons and 14 chief administrative officers to mention but a few.
THE Government has proposed the creation of 14 new districts. If Parliament approves the plan, the number of the districts will rise to 94 from the current 80.
The proposal was tabled before Parliament yesterday by local government minister Adolf Mwesige. Mwesige also asked Parliament to approve the creation of the districts, which the Constitution empowers it to do.
Speaker Edward Ssekandi directed the committee on local government to expeditiously handle the matter.
Seven new districts take effect from July 1, 2009. They are: Zombo, Amudat, Otuke, Lamwo, Kyegegwa, Buikwe and Buyende. Four of the districts which start this July are from northern Uganda.
However, Chua MP Livingstone Okello Okello said there was no trading centre called Lamwo but Padibe.
The other seven districts will become effective a year later. They are Namayingo, Luuka, Kiryandongo, Ntoroko, Serere, Mukuju and Kisoko. Mukuju and Kisoko will be curved out of Tororo district, which thereafter ceases to exist. President Yoweri Museveni promised Buikwe a district while campaigning in a by-election there a year ago.
Mwesigye said the new districts would ensure effective administration and bring services closer to the people. In creating the districts, the Government considered their means of communication, geographical features, destiny and the wishes of the people as well as economic viability, Mwesigye said. Besides, he argued, most MPs supported the plan.
Mwesige said the headquarters of each new district would automatically become a town council.
The number of districts rose from 33 in 1980 to 80 in 2006. Five new districts were created in 1997, eleven in 2000 and 22 in 2005 and 2006.
The move has been criticised by donors and civil society as expensive. For instance, the creation of the latest districts means an additional 14 MPs, an equal number of resident district commissioners, 14 district chairpersons and 14 chief administrative officers to mention but a few.