Two weeks ago, Speaker of the 11th Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah directed that all Bills passed by the 10th Parliament but not signed by President Yoweri Museveni will be re-tabled for fresh discussions.
He said Rule 235 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure provides that a Bill, petition or motion or other business before the House or committee lapses upon resolution of Parliament.
“Business of the 10th Parliament that remained incomplete lapsed when the term of Parliament ended. Any member or government who has desires of having business of the 10th Parliament that wasn’t completed by the end of that Parliament should have the business reintroduced in the House and the business shall begin afresh,” Oulanyah said.
He added that the difficulty to track the timelines as required in Rules of Procedure to execute these assignments is a limiting factor.
Former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has responded to Oulanyah’s ‘ruling’ saying parliament has rules that guide a transition.
“It is unfortunate that there have been attempts to circumvent rule 235 of the Rules of Procedure of parliament which would have guided the transition from the 10th to the 11th parliament. Once a bill is returned No new matter may be introduced,” said Kadaga in a tweet.
Meanwhile, some of the bills to be re-tabled include;
- The Succession Amendment Bill 2020.
- National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Bill.
- The Sexual Offences Bill, the Succession Bill.
- The National Health Insurance.
- The Fisheries Amendment Bill 2020.
- National Climate Change Bill 2020.
