Government plans to change the rules for how local governments are run, according to Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.
During plenary , PM Nabbanja mentioned that they’ve prepared a new proposal to update the Local Government Act, which will be reviewed by the cabinet and then brought to Parliament for approval.
“Since there are lacunas in the act about the governance of new cities when is the government coming up with a bill on governance of new cities? My response to members and the Rt Hon Speaker is that the proposed amendment bill for the Local Government Act cap 243 has been prepared and will soon be submitted to cabinet for consideration and approval before being presented to Parliament for approval,” she said
This announcement came in response to concerns raised by Hon. Abed Bwanika about how the new cities have been operating without clear rules on sharing assets with the districts they were formed from.
Bwanika pointed out that the lack of clear guidelines has affected service delivery in these areas. The law says that when a new local government unit is created, property should be shared fairly between the old and new governments.
The Prime Minister explained that funding to help resettle 10 districts affected by the creation of new cities was requested but not allocated in the current financial year.
She mentioned that the matter has been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Finance for consideration in the next budget cycle.
“Funding to finance the settlement of 10 districts including Masaka, Mbale, Hoima , Arua , Gulu , Lira, Soroti and Jinja among others that gave birth to cities was requested for by the Ministry of local government during the budgeting period for the current financial year 2023/2024.However it remained unfunded because resources were not allocated. The Finance Ministry will consider the matter in the 2024/2023 budget” she explained
Regarding the designation of sub-counties hosting new district headquarters as town councils, the Prime Minister stated that the Ministry of Local Government has collected necessary information from local governments that have already decided on their new locations.
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