By Andrew Irumba
A Cabinet meeting chaired by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Monday finally agreed to disband and merge dozens of Government agencies in an on-going massive re-organisation of government and realignment of functions as it moves to close gaps through which it has been losing Billions of money.
Among those most affected is Museveni’s own blue eyed girl, most trusted Allen Kagina who has been UNRA’s Executive Director. In a nutshell, she is back on Jeniffer Musis’ dusty streets to hunt for ajob.
The reforms, first raised by President Museveni last year, also aim at preventing duplication of roles/duties and wastage of public resources.
In a July 2017 letter, Mr Museveni directed Vice President Edward Ssekandi and Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda to spearhead review of government agencies that he said had become a burden to taxpayers.
“Why have an agency when you have a department of government dealing with the same area of responsibility? Why have an Authority when you have department of government dealing with the same area of responsibility? Why have Boards for money-consuming units rather than money generating units?” Museveni queried.
Sources that attended Monday meeting but declined to be named because Cabinet discussions are confidential, said affected agencies will either be merged or reverted to parent ministry as subordinate entities.
Each agency reverted to a ministry will be headed by a commissioner, another source said, while the ministry’s accounting officer will take over accountability for the absorbed unit.
Many of the affected entities are self-accounting. According to one source, the Justice Ministry is preparing an omnibus Bill to be introduced in Parliament, perhaps as early as next week, to repeal and replace laws establishing the agencies that the Cabinet decided to dissolve or merge.
The fate of the employees remains uncertain, but top officials such as executive directors and human resources managers will be the first to lose their jobs since parent ministries will take over their duties.
In apress briefing today Tuesday,Frank Tumweze,the minister for Information and ICT has confirmed the drastic changes.
The ministers in yesterday’s sitting, however, agreed not to touch Kampala Capital City Authority, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, Uganda Communications Commission and the National Medical Stores alongside most statutory councils.
Under the new arrangement, the National Registration Services Bureau will revert to the Justice ministry while Uganda National Roads Authority, Uganda Road Fund and Transport Licensing Board will be absorbed by their parent Works and Transport ministry.
The electricity generation, transmission and distribution and the Rural Electrification Agency have been merged into one power outfit. The Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board and Departed Asians Properties Custodian Board, Cabinet agreed, should be under Finance.
The Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries ministry will absorb National Agricultural Advisory Services , Uganda Trypanosomiasis Control Council, Dairy Development Authority, Uganda Coffee Development Authority and Cotton Development Organisation.
Uganda Aids Commission, Uganda Blood Transfusion Services and Uganda Land Commission are reverting to their parent ministries.
Dissolved Agencies
1-Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA)
2-Uganda Road Fund (URF)
3-Uganda Railways Corporation(URC)
4-Transport Licensing Board (TLB)
5-Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB)
6- Uganda Electricity Generation Co.Limited (UEGCL)
7-Uganda Electricity Transmission Co.Limited (UETCL)
8-Uganda Electricity Distribution Co Limited (UEDCL)
9-Rural Electrification Agency (REA)
10-Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (LGRB)
11-Departed Asians Properties Custodian Board (DAPCB)
12-National Agricultural Advisory Services Org.(NAADS)
13-Uganda Trypanosomiasis Control Council (UTCC)
14-Dairy Development Authority (DDA)
15-Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA)
16-Cotton Development Organisation (CDO)
17-National Identification & Registration Authority (NIRA)
18- NGO Bureau
19-National Information Technology Authority (NITA)
20-Uganda Aids Commission (UIC)
21-National Drug Authority (NDA)
22-Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS)
23-Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI)
24-Uganda National Council for Scie & Tech (UNCST)
25-Uganda Land Commission (ULC)
Retained Agencies:
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)
Uganda Communication Commission (UCC)
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS)
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBS)
National Medical Stores (NMS)
