Preparations have been finalised for the Cabinet of President Yoweri Museveni’s new 80-plus member cabinet to be sworn in tomorrow, with only four nominees rejected for failing to meet the basic requirements.
Parliament last week concluded the vetting of 80 ministers with only 76 making the mark and reports day they will be sworn in on Tuesday during a ceremony presided over by the assigning authority- President Museveni at State House Entebbe.
In the new line-up, Museveni reappointed his Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi and Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda and maintained Matia Kasaija and Irene Muloni as the important finance and energy ministers respectively.
First Lady Janet Museveni is the new Minister of Education and Sports, while retired Lt. General Henry Tumukunde is Minister of Security.
Frank Tumwebaze has been replaced as Minister for Kampala City by Federal Alliance Party head Betty Kamya. Tumwebaze is named ICT Minister.
The rejected appointees include Ms Harriet Ntabazi, the former Bundibugyo Woman MP, who had been appointed State Minister for Industries.
Works state minister designate Ismael Orot was also rejected on grounds of lack of academic qualifications while Ms Adrian Tibaleka’s (Bunyoro) appointment as State Minister for the Elderly and Disabled was rejected after she failed to convince MPs over whether she qualifies to be a minister as stipulated under Article 113(1).
Ruth Acheng, the former UPC MP for Kole district was dropped by Museveni himself from the cabinet.
Florence Nakiwala [DP] is among the other opposition politicians set to be sworn in in Museveni’s government
The President combined Investment and Privatisation into a single docket and appointed a new minister to the docket, Ms Evelyn Anite, the architect of his sole candidature project.
Many of the new faces were in smaller ministries or as ministers of state.
Available figures show that a Cabinet minister who is also a Member of Parliament earns about Shs25 million monthly and the one who is an ex-officio earns about Shs18 million.
President Museveni also has about 100 advisers who are collectively paid Shs230 million every month, excluding allowances. The number of MPs also increased from 386 to now 428 MPs in the 10th Parliament as a result of the creation of new districts, counties and municipalities.
