Uganda's Deputy Speaker of Parliament has warned that parliamentary committees failing to meet their reporting obligations will lose funding, with future financial support now tied to performance and accountability. Addressing MPs during Tuesday's plenary sitting, Thomas Tayebwa said committees that receive and use parliamentary funds but do not produce required reports must account for their performance or risk losing money. 'If your committee is not working, there is no reason for giving you money,' Tayebwa said.
Tayebwa singled out the Committee on Climate Change, which he said had not submitted a single report during the entire term of the 11th Parliament despite receiving and using funds. He also cited the Committees on Equal Opportunities, HIV/AIDS and Related Matters, Human Rights, and Science and Technology as examples of underperforming bodies. Under Parliament's Rules of Procedure, the committees are required to present reports to the House at least twice a year.
Parliament established the specialised standing committees to ensure that key policy areas receive sustained attention and that MPs are regularly informed about developments in their respective sectors, Tayebwa explained. The reporting requirement was intended to keep Parliament informed about challenges and developments in specialised areas that might otherwise receive less attention from committees with broader mandates. 'This is therefore to require committees to conform to the reporting requirements and justify their existence,' Tayebwa said.
Parliament's leadership will also engage political party whips to ensure that legislators appointed to lead committees demonstrate commitment to their responsibilities. Tayebwa warned that the leadership would ask party whips not to nominate legislators who had headed underperforming committees for future leadership positions. 'We will talk to whips and request that, please, this one is not suitable to be a leader,' he said. The warning signals a push by Parliament's leadership to strengthen committee accountability by linking the use of public resources to the fulfilment of legislative responsibilities.