On June 20, the Ministry of Public Service Permanent Secretary, Ms. Catherine Bitarakwate, wrote to Ms. Kagina and 22 other heads of parastatals and agencies, advising them to “desist from hiring new staff” and renew contracts expiring until December 30, only after consulting with her ministry and the Attorney General’s office.
Legislative Progress
“In total, 40 Bills were drafted and submitted to Parliament for legislation. Out of the 40 Bills, 23 were passed, while 17 are still pending,” the letter reads in part.
Folding of Agencies
Ms Bitarakwate indicated that the folding of agencies and departments back into their parent ministries is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
However, the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) is among the seven parastatals that MPs voted to retain.
The others are the Dairy Development Authority (DDA), National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U), Cotton Development Organisation (CDO), National Forestry Authority (NFA), Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), and the National Agricultural Advisory Services (Naads).
Advisory Notice
The top executives of the other six parastatals, along with the Permanent Secretaries of their supervising ministries, were copied in the June 20 advisory.
Ministry Response
Yesterday, Ms Bitarakwate told this newspaper that “there is a reason for that, but I am not the best person to tell you anything. Just follow the distribution list and also talk to the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi.”
Executive’s Rejection of Retaining Parastatals
Dr Baryomunsi later revealed that the Executive had rejected the retaining of the seven parastatals and directed that the repeal Bills be tabled afresh before Parliament.
Fresh Bills to Address MPs’ Concerns
“The matter came up before the Cabinet, and it was decided that the Bills for agencies that were saved be amended to address the MPs’ concerns,” Dr Baryomunsi said. He added:
“As I speak now, the First Parliamentary Counsel is working on the fresh Bills, and they will be tabled soon. The new Bills are original proposals with some modifications, but the intentions of the mergers have not changed.”
Role of the First Parliamentary Counsel
The directorate of the First Parliamentary Counsel, under the Ministry of Justice, is mandated with drafting all legislation for the government.
This means that the First Parliamentary Counsel is working on Bills for collapsing Unra, DDA, NITA-U, CDO, NFA, UCDA, and Naads back to their respective parent ministries.
Uncertain Fate of UNRA Employees
The fate of 1,442 employees of UNRA has become uncertain again after the Executive directed the tabling of a fresh Unra Repeal Bill 2024 before Parliament “to address the MPs’ concerns,” with the ultimate goal of subsuming the agency under its parent Works and Transport ministry.
Recent Developments and Parliamentary Action
This decision comes barely two months after MPs stopped the merger of Unra but supported a proposal by MPs Denis Oguzu and Muhammad Nsereko to amend the 2006 UNRA Act to grant the Works minister more executive powers for better oversight.
Speaker’s Concerns and RAPEX Committee
In voting against the UNRA Repeal Bill 2024 on April 23, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among urged the Committee on Rationalisation of Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) to table a Bill that harmonizes the salaries of heads of parastatals and agencies before the House.
This followed concerns that UNRA executive director, Ms. Allen Kagina, is among the top earners in government, which does not apply to all heads of agencies.
Presidential Meetings and Rationalisation Efforts
Before the parliamentary process began, President Museveni held several meetings with his ruling party MPs to convince them to support the mergers, an exercise termed as the rationalization of government agencies and public expenditure, aimed at saving Shs1 trillion annually.
The government hopes this move will eliminate duplication of roles and spur efficiency in service delivery and budgetary discipline.
NITA-U Amendment Bill Rejection
On February 28, MPs voted against the NITA-U Amendment Bill, which sought to fold the authority back into its parent Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. NITA-U, the statutory body mandated to coordinate government IT services, was found not to have duplicated roles with its parent ministry, and its budget of Shs123 billion for FY2024/2025 was approved.
Presidential Protest and Influence of Power Brokers
Sources revealed that President Museveni protested the retaining of NITA-U, allegedly influenced by some power brokers.
In a 2018 Cabinet meeting, the President questioned ICT ministry officials about the procurement of Kenyan company Soliton Telmec Ltd to manage the National Backbone Infrastructure and e-Government Infrastructure (EGI).
This led to his directive to fold NITA-U back into the ICT ministry.
Displeasure with NITA-U Leadership
Since early 2024, the President has expressed displeasure with NITA-U’s top leadership and ICT ministry officials over attempts to scuttle the merger deal between Dubai-based ROWARD Capital Commercial Broker LLC and the newly formed Uganda Telecommunications Corporation Limited (UTCL).
The President recently gave officials a 21-day ultimatum, ending July 24, to finalize the deal.
Urgency of Mergers
Dr. Baryomunsi did not specify when the Bills would be re-tabled before the House but emphasized the urgency of the mergers as directed by the President.
Tabling of Merger Bills
On February 20, the Executive tabled 39 Bills to collapse several agencies and departments back into their parent ministries.
The merger Bills, tabled by the respective ministers, were forwarded to the line parliamentary committees for scrutiny.
The Truck
The tabling of UNRA Repeal Bill 2024 comes at a time when Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) towed away the mysterious truck that has been parked along the Kireka-Namugongo road for years.
This rusting vehicle, immobile for an extended period, attracted the attention of many people and has been the subject of numerous myths and superstitions.
The truck’s presence had long been a source of both fascination and fear.
There have been stories that, before the owner died, he declared that the truck would never be moved.
Further chilling, unverified stories circulated about road traffic officers who attempted to tow the vehicle and reportedly went mad as a result.
Even scrap metal dealers, who usually seize any opportunity to collect and sell metal, allegedly avoided the truck, claiming it was cursed.
These tales contributed to a widespread belief among locals that “witchcraft is stronger than government,” suggesting that even authorities were wary of confronting the supernatural elements purportedly associated with the truck.
This belief was reinforced by the truck’s continued presence, which seemed to defy logical explanations and official intervention.
