The term of office for Local Council 1 and 2 and Women Councils has been extended for an additional 180 days until early July 2024. This extension was approved following the presentation of statutory instruments on the floor of the House during a session held on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.
Speaker Anita Among, while presiding over the session, assigned the Minister for Local Government the task of presenting the statutory instruments for House approval. She emphasized that these instruments had been endorsed by the Cabinet before the expiration of the initial term of office for the Local Councils on January 5, 2024.
It was noted that on July 28, 2023, the government initially introduced a statutory instrument extending the term of office for these councils by six months, attributing this decision to a lack of funds for conducting elections for new office bearers at that time.
“The 180 days were set to expire on January 5, 2024, leading the minister to issue this extension on December 29, 2023, to ensure compliance with the timeline. The documents are fully gazetted and have been presented on the table for retrospective approval,” Speaker Among stated.
The new statutory instruments for the extension of the term of office for the Local Councils and Women Councils were brought to the floor by Government Chief Whip, Hon. Hamson Obua, and Minister for Gender, Labour, and Social Development, Hon. Betty Amongi, respectively.
The Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, clarified that the amendment allowing for the statutory instruments was in line with the provisions outlined in the Local Government Act Cap 243.