President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has ordered that all parliamentary committee chairpersons who subscribe to the NRM must be set aside, and new ones appointed.
The call came as the president met with the NRM Central Executive Committee at State House Entebbe, ahead of a decision by the house to designate committee chairpersons.
According to a CEC resolution, the Government Chief Whip has been tasked with presenting the new nominees for the various parliamentary committees. “CEC resolved to mandate the Government Chief Whip to present the approved nominees for designation to the respective parliamentary committees and defer the designation for the vacant leadership positions of the sessional committees for two weeks,” the resolution read.
This sweeping reorganization affects a broad range of committees, including key sectors such as Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Defence and Internal Affairs, East African Community Affairs, Education and Sports, Environment and Natural Resources, Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Foreign Affairs, and Gender, Labour and Social Development.
Other committees impacted include Health, Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Presidential Affairs, Public Service and Local Government, Tourism, Trade and Industry, and Physical Infrastructure.
The new decision by NRM’s CEC follows corruption allegations at Parliament. Some members of parliament have already been remanded on corruption charges, with a couple of others expected to report to CID for questioning.
Last week, MPs Yusuf Mutembuli; Lwengo Woman MP, Cissy Namujju and Paul Akamba were sent on remand to Luzira prison for allegedly soliciting a twenty percent share of the budget of Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) in exchange for influencing its increase.
