PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA Tuesday, 1 March 2022 Parliament met at 2.04 p.m. in Parliament House, Kampala. PRAYERS (The Deputy Speaker, Ms Anita Among, in the Chair.) The House was called to order. COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, I welcome you back from the short holiday. On Saturday, 26 February 2022, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Uganda launched the Parish Development Model in Kibuku District. This programme is meant to eradicate poverty through the execution of development activities in parishes. The Parish Development Model is an extension of the approach on development that has been envisaged in the National Development Plan III, with the parish as the lowest administrative unit, and as an operational hub for delivering services to our people at the grassroots and improve their economic activities. I urge the honourable Members of Parliament, as people's representatives and the voice of the voiceless, to ensure that you take part in whatever is going to happen with the Parish Development Model; be party to it; be a change agent of your people and do your oversight role in whatever is happening in the area. The relevant ministries must also follow up on whatever is happening. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology must ensure that the firm that is going to offer the software guarantees and the cyber security is very efficient. Let us not have a firm like the one that gave out the COVID-19 relief of Shs 100,000; it credited some people several times. Let us avoid those kinds of firms. In addition, the Ministry of Local Government should also ensure that the right people get this money at the right time and at the right place. Let us make use of this money to change the lives of our people. Importantly, however, we must ensure we champion the mindset change of our people towards this project. You will go to an area and people will say, “We are not farmers.” So, it is upon you and I to ensure that we change the mindset of the people because that is why you are here, as the people's representatives. Under Section 13(13) of the Public Finance Management Act, every minister or head of an institution responsible for a vote is required to submit to Parliament, by 15 March, a ministerial policy statement for the preceding year. 1 Disclaimer: The electronic version of the Official Report of the proceedings of Parliament (Hansard) is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Office of the Clerk to Parliament. On that note, therefore, I ask Government to ensure that all ministries present those statements to Parliament by the 10th of this month for onward transmission to the sectoral committees. Therefore, Finance and Government, we want all the reports in the House by the 10 th for us to transmit them to the sectoral committees and later on to the Budget Committee, as per the requirements of the law. I have noted, with concern, something that has been happening on social media, left, right, and centre on the issue of the Nagaru-Nakawa land. I have also received a petition in my office about the fights that are happening in the ministry and all that is happening with that land. As a House, I do not think we should just go quiet on it. Based on that, under rule 191, I hereby nominate Members to an ad hoc committee to investigate what is happening with the Nakawa-Naguru land and report to this House in two weeks’ time, so that we can put this issue to rest. The Members on the ad hoc committee include: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. Hon Dan Kimosho (Chairperson); Hon. Agnes Atim; Hon. Anthony Akol; Hon. Aisha Kabanda; Hon. Asuman Basalirwa Hon. Jonathan Ebwalu; Hon. Dickson Kateshumbwa; Hon. Sarah Opendi; Hon. Rita Atukwasa. I now put the question that the above names be approved by this House to investigate this matter on our behalf. (Question put and agreed to.) THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, the Leader of the Opposition has a statement to make MR SILWANY: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise on a point of procedure arising from your communication. You talked about the Parish Development Model. As we talk, there has been a procurement process to secure an IT system that is going to manage the disbursement of the money for the Parish Development Model; honourable members, I am talking about Shs 1 trillion because it is Shs 100 million per parish and this is about $285 million. They went ahead an