Kampala, (UG):- Uganda’s Parliament Wednesday passed six bills including the National Coffee Amendment Bill 2024 with amendments, approving the abolishing of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) despite an earlier chaotic session in the chambers that witnessed an unprecedented fistfight between legislators.
According to the contents of the contentious bill, now passed into law, UCDA’s functions will now be taken over by the Ministry of Agriculture in what is described as the mainstreaming and rationalisation of the functions of the authority.
The Minister of Agriculture, Frank Tumwebaze told the house that the Bill is part of the rationalization process. “The Coffee Amendment Bill thereby, inter alia, relieves the Government of the financial drain on its resources and the burden of wasteful administration and expenditure on the Authority yet the Ministry may perform the functions with less cost and expenditure,” he said.
The Bill, DailyExpress understands, is also meant to facilitate efficient and effective service delivery by clearly delineating the mandates and functions of the Ministry in relation to other government agencies and departments, thereby avoiding duplication of mandates and functions.
On the same afternoon, legislators voted to pass the Uganda National Roads Authority (Repeal) Bill, 2024, which dissolves UNRA as a sole government agency, and now moves back to the Ministry of Works and Transport, with amendments to ensure a smooth transition.
Hon. Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister of Works and Transports assured the House that the dissolution would not result in job losses, as UNRA employees are invited to join the Ministry of Works under the public service framework.
“We are not going to create unemployment; we are going to validate all workers of UNRA, and those willing to work under the public service arrangement are welcome,” Wamala stated, before questioning the original concept of creating autonomous agencies, which he said might have inadvertently weakened central government functions.
“I don’t know where the concept of creating agencies came from; it looks like the idea was to weaken the central government,” Wamala said
The UNRA Bill also impacts the Uganda Road Fund, which is set to be dissolved after Members of Parliament considered it to be rationalized as well with the passing of the Uganda Road Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
The Minister of State for Works Hon. Musa Ecweru, however, assured Parliament that district-level Road Committees would remain in place to oversee the effective management and distribution of road maintenance funds.
Hon Ecweru emphasized that the funding previously managed by the Uganda Road Fund will continue to reach local districts but will now fall under the Ministry’s oversight.
Hon. Dan Kimosho, Chairperson of the Committee on Physical Infrastructure, presented a report endorsing the rationalization but called on the Ministry to ensure that adequate funds are available for local governments to maintain road infrastructure.
The Public Enterprises Reform and Divestiture (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was also passed into law dissolving the Privatization Unit and its functions now mainstreamed into the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Planning docket.
Also passed on the afternoon was the Tier 4 Microfinance Institutions and Money Lenders (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which dissolves the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority and its functions, all now mainstreamed under the Finance Ministry.
The House also passed the Nonperforming Assets Recovery Trust (Repeal) Bill, 2024, which will effect the abolition of the Non-Performing Assets Recovery Trust, the Board of Trustees, and the Sinking Fund and have its functions mainstreamed into the Finance Ministry.
Below are the six new bills passed into law
- National Coffee Bill, 2024
- UNRA Bill, 2024
- Uganda Road Fund Bill, 2024
- Public Enterprises Reform Bill, 2024
- 4 Tier Microfinance Institutions Bill, 2024
- Assets Recovery Trust Bill, 2024
The Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon Anita Among urged the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Hon Dr Chris Baryomunsi to intensify public awareness campaigns on the good intentions of the government to rationalise agencies.
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