Quorum delaying city status approval - Kadaga
Move. From right: Jinja Town Clerk Ocen Ambrose, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Chris Baryomunsi and Speaker Rebecca Kadaga at the ground-breaking of road constructions in Jinja on Friday. PHOTO BY TAUSI NAKATO
What you need to know:
- In June 2019, Kabaka Ronald Mutebi II raised his voice over government delay to effect Masaka Municipality’s approval and following his request, it was added to the first batch.
Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has attributed the delay to grant 15 municipalities a city status to lack of quorum in the House.
Quorum is the minimum number of members of an assembly or society that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.
Ms Kadaga made the revelation in Jinja District on Friday while officiating at the ground-breaking of the reconstruction of Eng Zikusooka Road (1.9km), Busoga Avenue (0.35km) and completion of Main Street (0.5km).
The Shs16.6b project is being undertaken by Stirling Civil Engineering Limited with funding from World Bank under Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) Programme II.
According to Ms Kadaga, the proposal was tabled in Parliament in December last year during the EAC Parliamentary games when most Members of Parliament (MPs) were absent.
“More than 70 MPs were participating in basketball, netball and football for almost two weeks, so we couldn’t make quorum,’’ she said.
“I assure you that we shall complete the issue of the city by making sure that we have 283 MPs without anyone going to the toilet. When we say it’s time to vote, we all vote and it will be finalised; so don’t get worried,’’ the speaker added.
The chairperson of Urban Authorities Association of Uganda (UAAU), Mr Majid Batambuze, appealed to MPs to expedite the approval of municipalities’ city status.
Mr Batambuze, who is also the mayor of Jinja Municipality, said they are busy preparing for a city status, although Parliament has delayed the process.
“As UAAU, we asked that certain municipalities be elevated to a city and sent the issue to Local Government. Our proposal was forwarded to Cabinet and was approved but when it reached Parliament and presented twice, it came to a standstill,’’ he said.
However, the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, said the process is ongoing that is why government came up with the USMID programme, whose aim is to improve infrastructure.
“When you look at Kampala and the surrounding areas, they are full of slums; 70 per cent of the population live in squalid conditions; so we wouldn’t want such a situation to happen in the new cities,’’ he said.
Background
In May 20, 2019, Cabinet approved the creation of 15 cities, with the first lot becoming operational in July 2020 including Arua, Gulu, Jinja, Fort Portal, and Mbarara.
The second cohort would have Hoima and Mbale elevated in 2021, while Lira and Entebbe would be elevated in the third.
Others are Nakasongola, Moroto, Masaka, Soroti, Kabale and Wakiso.
In June 2019, Kabaka Ronald Mutebi II raised his voice over government delay to effect Masaka Municipality’s approval and following his request, it was added to the first batch.
In July 2019, government also announced that Mbale city would become operational in July 2020 following street protests.
A budget of Shs130b was set aside for the operationalisation of these cities.
