09/07/2015
Kampala- Cabinet yesterday approved the creation of 42 new
constituencies, targeting districts with
big populations and one constituency.
Senior ministers, who requested not to
be named because Cabinet meetings
are held behind closed doors, said Local Government minister Adolf
Mwesige was instructed to table the
request to Parliament “as soon as
possible”.
Some of the targeted districts include:
Wakiso, Kampala, Mpigi, Mukono, Iganga, Kiruhura, Tororo, Arua,
Kasese, Hoima, Kabale and Kibaale,
Gomba, Otuke and Kween. Others are Namayingo, Agago,
Lamwo, Kaliro, Luuka, Namutumba,
Kitgum, Serere, Kibuku, Buvuma,
Bukomansimbi, Lyantonde, Kyegegwa,
Kyankwanzi and Kiboga. If Parliament approves the Cabinet
request, the 10th Parliament will have
428 MPs up from 386 members in 9th
Parliament. Previously, the government proposal
to create 36 new constituencies
attracted fierce debate that such a
move would bloat cost of public
administration and eat away the funds
needed to fulfil the presidential pledges and improve service delivery. When the House Committee on Public
Service and Local Government tabled
its report on the creation of 25 new
districts on Tuesday, Mr Mwesige
requested for three weeks to consult
Cabinet decision on the matter. However, by press time it was not
clear whether Cabinet also agreed to
create any new districts ahead of next
year’s polls. The sources from a Cabinet meeting
chaired by President Museveni at
State House Entebbe also agreed that
the new constituencies be carved from
the districts with only one
representative in Parliament. However, by press, time the details on
the affected districts were still scanty
as the Information minister Jim
Muhwezi was not available for
comment. While touring development projects in
Namutumba District in February this
year, Mr Museveni, who was reacting
to calls for a new constituency in the
area, said: “On the constituency
creation, I am to work on those districts such as Namutumba, which
have big populations but with only one
constituency.”
The committee on Tuesday noted that
some of the 25 proposed districts
were duly requested by the local people and councils and the minutes of
the resolution of the respective district
local councils were accordingly
submitted to the minister of Local
Government. New districts The resolutions were with effect to
create Kagadi, Kakumiro, Kihiizi,
Rubanda, Kyotera, Kyadondo,
Kassanda, Kasambya, Namisindwa,
Kikuube, Bunyangabu, Kitagwenda,
Rukiga and Rwampara districts. However, the Committee noted that
while Wakiso District recommended
creation of Entebbe and Kyadondo
districts and Mubende recommended
Kassanda and Kasambya districts,
Entebbe and Kassanda were left out of the minister’s proposal for new
districts. However, some MPs and civil society
groups reasoned that creating more
districts without resources to fund
them is economically unviable and that
most of the mother districts were
engrossed in border conflicts. Although the minister brought the
motion to Parliament in July 2012,
Cabinet later sat and put a moratorium
on the creation of new districts, citing
high costs. The minister informed Parliament that
when Cabinet calculated the annual
cost for the creation of new districts,
they came up with Shs59 billion and an
additional Shs14 billion was needed for
running a new district annually. This means that to create the 25
districts, the government would need
to find the source of an extra Shs1.4
trillion and another Shs390 billion to
run the new districts annually.
