Uganda parliamentary oversight reforms

Uganda’s Parliament is implementing measures to improve the efficiency and accountability of its oversight committees. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) proposed reducing the membership of its three primary accountability committees by 50 percent and barring those members from serving on sectoral committees. This move aims to prevent competing assignments from delaying the scrutiny of public expenditure and to ensure committees meet the six-month statutory deadline for examining Auditor General reports.

In a related development, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa warned that committees failing to meet their reporting obligations risk losing public funding. He stated that Parliament will no longer allocate resources to committees that utilize funds without demonstrating their work through required reports. Tayebwa specifically criticized the Committee on Climate Change for failing to present any reports during the 11th Parliament. He further indicated that committee leaders who fail to fulfill their duties may face replacement through engagement with party whips.