Parliament has completed the vetting of Cabinet and state ministers who were recently appointed by the President Yoweri Museveni.
The two-day exercise was carried out by the Appointments Committee chaired by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth.
High on the agenda of some of the newly appointed ministers is combating corruption.
The State Minister for Local Government, Hon. Justine Nameere said action will be taken on errant officers in local governments noting that several whistleblowers have already reported incidents of corruption.
“The revenues at cities, districts and the divisions are being under declared. A city is collecting Shs1.7 billion, but an errant town clerk will tell you they are collecting Shs20 million. That is a huge leakage. We must ensure government programmes are alive and also buttress the supervisory role,” Nameere said.
The State Minister for National Guidance, Hon. Alioni Yorke Odria proposed digital measures to curb graft.
“Through the ministry, we are going to introduce software that we shall use to fight corruption, be it through phone calls or bank systems. We shall work with other ministries to ensure that this fight is done across the board,” Odria said.
Realignment of public service positions and transparency in recruitment for jobs is top on Hon. Lydia Wanyoto’s priorities as she commences her role as State Minister for Public Service.
“I have heard severally that there are many people in acting capacity, that there are challenges of promotions. There are reports of public service boards asking for bribes to give jobs. We shall ensure that Ugandans who qualify go through due recruitment processes and that no Ugandan pays for a public service job,” Wanyoto emphasised.
Ugandans were urged to remain calm and follow standard health operating procedures in light of the recent Ebola cases, with new State Minister for Primary Health Care, Hon. Charles Ayume noting that a lockdown is not necessary.
“We are guided by scientific evidence so we should not panic. A lockdown is usually the last measure but right now, the Ministry [Health] is doing whatever it takes through surveillance, creating awareness and early warning systems,” Ayume said.
Hon. Phyllis Chemutai, the State Minister for Primary Education pledged to work towards improving the standing of UPE schools in the country, especially through improving infrastructure.
“There is also a problem of poor feeding of primary pupils and many parents cannot afford the feeding policy. This causes children to perform poorly and dropout of school. I will advocate that children are given food to sustain them in school,” Chemutai pledged.
Amb. Adonia Ayebare, the Minister for Foreign Affairs said he will work towards bringing all Ministries, Departments and Agencies as stakeholders in Uganda’s foreign policy.
“This will ensure that we are all well-coordinated in delivering effective implementation of our foreign policy which is based on patriotism, regional integration and pan-Africanism,” Amb. Ayebare said.
The role of the Appointments Committee is provided for in Rule 173 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, which states that, the committee shall be responsible for approving, on behalf of Parliament, the appointment of persons nominated for appointment by the President.
The Speaker will now write to the President as provided for in Rule 177.
“The Speaker shall communicate to the President in writing, within three working days after the decision of the Committee on Appointments, on any person nominated by the President for appointment,” the rule states.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
