The Public Service and Local Government Committee of Parliament has rejected the local government (amendment) bill tabled by Bubulo County West legislator Rose Mutonyi Masaba, seeking to among others, exempt elected political leaders from being subjected to elections in the ‘carved out districts’.
Committee members led by Aringa North County MP Godfrey Onzima, noted that the Bill does not ‘introduce anything new except the need to give the chairperson of the original local government an opportunity to choose whether to move to a newly created local government or to remain in the old one’.
The MPs were citing Article 1(4) of the Constitution and the principles contained in the Local Governments Act which give the people the right to choose who shall govern them through regular, free and fair election.
They further noted that in case political leaders exonerated from new election processes, chairpersons will influence the District Council to pass resolutions for creation of districts which are in their favour ‘and this will lead to rampant emergence of new districts’.
‘An existing Council cannot be termed as an ‘interim council’ on the basis that its chairperson has opted to join a newly-created local government yet the other persons that form the Council are still in office,” reads in part the Committee report.
They also rejected the notion that the proposed amendment would limit the financial burden on government.
‘It is misconceived because even if the Chairperson is given the opportunity to move to the newly created local government, there would still be a vacancy created in the old one which would have to be filled through an election,’ they argued.
This year government is set to create six new districts: Nabilatuk out of Nakapiripirit; Bugweri out of Iganga; Kassanda out of Mubende; Kwania out of Apac; Kapelebyong out of Amuria and Kibuube out of Hoima. They will all become operationalized from July 1, 2018.
Then in 2019 government will create another six new districts: Obongi out of Moyo; Kazo out of Kiruhura; Rwampara out of Mbarara; Kitagwenda/Kamwenge and Madi-Okollo/Arua.
