Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, has refuted allegations that government entities resorted to bribery to sway legislators against proposed mergers back into their mother ministries during recent parliamentary debates.
Over the past two weeks, Parliament has deliberated on amendment bills aimed at rationalizing several government agencies to curb rising public expenditure.
Reports surfaced suggesting that agencies like Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U), Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), and others, which were spared from rationalization, had allegedly bribed legislators to block their merger.
Addressing the House during Wednesday’s plenary sitting, Ms Among dismissed these claims and criticized media outlets and social media users for spreading unfounded allegations of bribery and corruption.
“These allegations of members being bribed must stop. Nobody was bribed; members acted independently. How can you bribe an entire House? Whatever did not go through was a result of consensus, as seen yesterday with UNRA, where even the minister conceded. Why should we be blamed for doing our job? We must question the motives behind these accusations. Do they want to fuel public disdain for Parliament?” Ms Among questioned.
Parliament ultimately rejected the merger of several agencies, including the National Forestry Authority (NFA), Dairy Development Authority (DDA), National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Uganda Cotton Development Organization (UCDO), National Bureau of NGOs, and Uganda Road Fund.
During intense debates, legislators advocated for increased funding to empower these agencies to effectively carry out their mandates.
However, while rejecting the mergers, Parliament urged concerned ministers to propose amendments that would grant them more executive powers over these agencies.
“The ministers have the authority to propose amendments here if they wish to align the boards and empower themselves with key powers, such as oversight over remuneration and contract performance,” noted Kampala Central legislator, Muhammad Nsereko, on Tuesday during the UNRA merger discussions.
Nsereko emphasized the importance of presenting amendments to enhance ministerial authority over agencies, providing an alternative to agency mergers for streamlining purposes.
