Bulambuli District

423 THE TWELFTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA THURSDAY, 16 JULY 2026 You realised that Give Directly has even supported us in Mount Elgon Subregion, yet it was part of those that had been stopped from operating in the country. I therefore, request that you put that in writing so that I get a more detailed answer. But that is what I can say for now.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity. It is a motion for a resolution of Parliament urging the Government to support the drought-affected subregions of Northern Uganda. This is moved under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament of Uganda. Mr Speaker, as you guided, I will go to the prayers directly. Our prayer is: “NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by Parliament as follows: a) that the Government expedites the delivery of food items to support the drought- affected households as well as seeds, seedlings, and planting material for food security crops for the affected people to plant immediately in the forthcoming planting season; b) that the Government invests adequately in early warning systems to strengthen climatic forecast and information dissemination so as to improve on safeguard measures against the occurrence of drought and other natural disasters; c) that the Government expedites the use of the $38 million funds already earmarked for the disaster risk financing facility under the NUSAF-IV Project to deal with the challenges of severe drought in the subregions of West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Karamoja, Teso, Bukedi, Bunyoro and Elgon; d) that the Government increases investment in solar-powered irrigation systems to minimise crop failures that arise from the absence of water; e) that the Government establishes agricultural mechanisation support systems to ease land opening, increase acreages under production and improve [Mr Opito] MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

439 THE TWELFTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA THURSDAY, 16 JULY 2026 food security in West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Karamoja, Teso, Bukedi, Bunyoro, and Elgon.” Mr Speaker, I beg to move. Thank you.

Mr Speaker and members, I remember yesterday I gave you the reasons why we have not yet relocated our fellow Ugandans who are at risk in the dangerous enclaves of Mount Elgon and Namisindwa is one of those. Namisindwa Health Center IV or Health Center III will be upgraded to Health Center IV among those I have talked about under UgIFT II.

Rt Hon. Prime Minister, can you allow me to ask something along that line regarding the boundaries between the Elgon National Park and the people of Sebei and Bugisu. I raised that issue several times. When I was a Government Chief Whip, I nearly underwent imbalu at Mount Wanale. Those guys wanted to capture me, and they said, “Sir, are you sorted?” - (Laughter) – “Even if you are sorted, if you do not sort out our issue, we can sort you out another time”. I said, “My goodness!” The dispute on which survey to go with: the survey of 1963 or the survey of 1992 is a very big issue. If you go to the one of 1960s, you will find that the whole of Mbale City is part of Elgon National Park. The President had promised that if you went with the one of 1992, at least you would be able to protect the national park the way it is now. While we fail to sort it out, people continue to encroach on it. Then there is Ruhija in Rubanda where the whole subcounty which is not even part of the national park - they said this is a national park. Therefore, in an area where you would have five-star resorts because of mountain gorillas, people cannot. Once developers come, they run away. I have been there with Hon. Musasizi, Hon. Kabaasa and Hon. Kikafunda. Rt Hon. Prime Minister, you need to give this issue of boundaries with the national parks serious attention. You will solve many issues across the country. (Applause) I had already picked the Member for Kibale (Hon. Nabadduka rose) Wait, I am trying to see who is smiling best this side. (Laughter) Hon. Kiruluuta and Hon. Elem, the one on the Front Bench; there is an agreement we made and I am going to fulfil it. I communicated it through the Opposition Chief Whip.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. My name is Kiti Peter, MP T’oo County. I want to correct the Leader of the Opposition (LOP) and the Prime Minister; they were saying Tochi, but it is T’oo County. I have two issues. One, Mount Elgon National Park is regarded as a water tower but if you go to Sebei right now, people are dying of drought yet water is flowing day and night. The water from Mount Elgon feeds Lake Kyoga, Lake Victoria, and lakes in Kenya but the people of Sebei are dying of drought. I am imploring that as we protect the national park, we should have water for production for Sebei region as we protect the water tower. I think that will be a big motivation for our people because as we tell them to protect the forest, they will be getting water. Second is the issue of weather forecast. I think we have a problem. In fact, honourable minister, allow me to use this. I sometimes prefer my old people to predict the weather rather than relying on the weather forecasts which are late. When the rains start, the meteorological department predicts El Niño. When it disappears, they predict drought but when I was trying to do research, I found that automatic water weather stations in Uganda – (Member timed out.)

Thank you. Mr Speaker, unfortunately, Sironko, among other districts in the Elgon region, has faced landslide problems every single year. Sironko has lost people, cattle, and arable land annually because of landslides. I raise this as a matter of national importance because we have 1,645 victims who have not been relocated, yet the cracks that were formed are expanding. We are expecting El Niño rains, and the science is that the rain sips and further drags the soil - ( Member timed out. ) May I continue? ( Laughter )

Mr Speaker, in 2023, I remember we all agreed; both the Government and Parliament, that the way forward for our people who live in the enclaves of Mount Elgon; those risky areas, is that they should be relocated to safer places. We have so far relocated 1,200 people. We all agreed to give these people two acres of land and Shs 100,000 so that they can relocate to safer places. Mr Speaker, getting a big chunk of land in Mount Elgon is next to impossible. We bought some land last year around Kween, and we relocated people there. On Monday, we have a Cabinet sitting and a Cabinet paper is ready for discussion so that we can change the approach. We want to give our people money for two acres, so they can look around their areas of origin. [Mr Nsamba] COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR

148 THE BUDGET SPEECH, 2026 Energy development Mr Speaker, reliable and affordable energy is essential for industrialisation and socioeconomic transformation. The Government continues to invest heavily in electricity generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. In the Financial Year 2025/2026, the Government achieved the following in energy development: a) Continued development of hydro, solar and other energy projects alongside preparatory work for future nuclear investments. Installed generation capacity now stands at 2,098 megawatts. The Government’s medium- to long-term target is 52,482 megawatts to support industrialisation, urbanisation and economic growth. b) Completed and continued construction of multiple lines, including the Kole-Gulu- Nebbi-Arua line 132 KV, the Kampala Metropolitan transmission line 132 KV, including two associated mobile substations, Mbarara, Kabarole 132 KV, Karuma-Tororo 400 KV, Tororo resource 400 KV, Mutundwe-Entebbe 132 KV and Lira-Gulu-Agago 132 KV. Good progress has also been made on substations serving industrial parks in Mbarara, Kapeeka, and the Kabalega Petrochemical Industrial Park. c) The share of households in rural areas connected to grid electricity has nearly doubled in the three years from 6.8 per cent in the Financial Year 2021/2022 to 11.4 per cent in the Financial Year 2024/2025. d) Through the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company, Government commenced construction of four small mini-hydro power sites expected to generate 5 megawatts of electricity. These sites will be completed in March 2027 and will provide reliable power to very hard- to-reach and remote areas. Further, under the Electricity Access Scale-Up Project, 419,592 off-grid solar connections have been made countrywide. Financial Year 2026/2027 Priorities for the Energy Sector Mr Speaker, the Government has allocated Shs 2.07 trillion to energy development and the priority interventions include: i) Expansion of generation capacity by commencing the 380-megawatt Kiba hydro-electricity plant, a floating solar plant at Isimba, and 500 megawatts of utility scale solar in the Elgon and Acholi subregions; ii) Preparatory work for nuclear energy generation at Buyende; iii) Expansion of transmission and associated substation infrastructure; iv) Rural electrification; and v) Industrial power connections. Investing in People Mr Speaker, economic transformation is ultimately about people. A healthy, educated, skilled and productive population is indispensable for sustained growth and shared prosperity. That is why the Government continues to allocate a large share of the discretionary budget to human capital development, i.e. health, education, water and sanitation, and social protection. During Financial Year 2025/2026, the following milestones were achieved: Health Under health, Mr Speaker, the Government sustained its policy of progressively increasing investment in essential medicines and health supplies. Accordingly, funding through the National Medical Stores was increased by Shs 145.33 billion to Shs 862.93 billion in Financial Year 2025/2026. The Government will continue to increase domestic financing for essential health commodities with the aim of substantially

7. Nankwanga Stellamaris Woman Representative Bugweri Independent 8. Nanzala Metrine Namisindwa County Namisindwa NRM 9. Nassolo Eugenia Rubaga Division South Kampala NUP 10. Nawe Molly Kamukama Woman Representative Kazo NRM 11. Ndeezi Alex PWD Representative N/A NRM 12. Ngabirano Charles Rwampara East County Rwampara Independent 13. Ninsiima Evelyne Woman Representative Rubanda Independent 14. Nnamara Annet Oyes Byamukama Woman Representative Buhweju NRM 15. Nyakato Asinansi City Woman Representative Hoima City PFF 16. Namujju Cissy Dionizia Woman Representative Lwengo NRM 17. Nyakato Dorothy Woman Representative Kitagwenda NRM 18. Namutaawe Joan Woman Representative Masaka NUP 19. Nayebale Sylivia Woman Representative Gomba NRM 20. Naziiwa Margret Woman Representative Kagadi NRM 21. Nkunyingi Muwada Kyadondo County East Wakiso NUP 22. Nuria Hafsa Teko Woman Representative Kotido Independent 23. Nangoli Gerald Elgon North County Bulambuli NRM 24. Nyeko Johnson Kezekiya Lamwo County Lamwo NRM 25. Obong Peter Acuda Maruzi County Apac UPC 26. Obong Vincent Shedrick Lira West Division Lira City UPC 27. Okiding Sam (Lt Gen.) UPDF Representative N/A N/A 28. Ofwono Opondo P’Odel Older Person’s Representative Eastern NRM 29. Ocen Geoffery Kioga North County Amolatar UPC 30. 3Ogwal Joseph Jones Dokolo North County Dokolo NRM 31. Ojara Martin Mapenduzi Bardege-Layibi Division Gulu City NRM 32. Nameere Justine Woman Representative Masaka City NRM 33. Nkrumah Roland Bufumbira County East Kisoro NRM 34. 3Ojiit Peter Pingire County Serere Independent 35. Ntabazi Harriet Bwamba County Bundibugyo NRM 36. Ocan Patrick Apac Municipality Apac Independent 37. Ogwang Patrick Obura Oyam County South Oyam NRM 38. Okaasai Sidronius Opolot Kumi County Kumi NRM 39. Oketcho George West Budama County South Tororo NRM 40. Oketcho John Francis Bugiri Municipality Bugiri NRM 41. Okeyoh Peter Bukooli Island County Namayingo NRM 42. Okot Peter Tochi County Omoro DP 43. Okumu Gabriel Okoro County Zombo NRM 44. Omara Paul Otuke County Otuke NRM 45. Omoding Emmanuel Serere County Serere NRM 46. Onek Hilary Obaloker Palabek County Lamwo NRM 47. Oneka Lit Amere Denis Kitgum Municipality Kitgum FDC 48. Ongom Patrick Erute County North Lira NRM 49. Ongu James Kwania North County Kwania NRM 50. Opito Vincent Dokolo South County Dokolo UPC 51. Nankabirwa Ann Maria Woman Representative Kyankwanzi NRM 52. Nantongo Fortunate Rose Woman Representative Kyotera NUP 53. Natumanya Flora Woman Representative Kikuube NRM 54. Naturinda Eliab Ndorwa County West Kabale NRM 55. Ngompek Linos Kibanda North County Kiryandongo NRM 56. Ninkusiima John Paul (Dr) Ibanda County South Ibanda NRM 57. Niringiyimana James R. Kaberuka Kinkizi County West Kanungu NRM

17 THE TWELFTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA FRIDAY, 15 MAY 2026 151. Ssentayi Muhamad Bukoto County West Lwengo NRM 152. Rugumayo Edison Ntoroko County Ntoroko NRM 153. Senteza Richard Lugazi Municipality Buikwe Independent 154. Wakooli Godfrey Matembu Butiru County Manafwa NRM 155. Suubi Kyinyamatama Juliet Woman Representative Rakai NRM 156. Wabusani Steven Makwa Bushigai County Bududa NRM 157. Wamakuyu Ignatius Mudimi Elgon County Bulambuli Independent 158. Wanyama Richard Samia Bugwe Central County Busia NRM 159. Wanyoto Lydia Mutende Woman Representative Mbale City NRM 160. Zaake Francis Mityana Municipality Mityana NUP 161. Wokuri Geofrey Bungokho County South Mbale NRM 162. Wakabi Pius Bugahya County Hoima NRM 163. Tumwesigye Elioda Sheema County North Sheema NRM 164. Sserunjogi Hassan Mukiibi Bukomansimbi South County Bukomansimbi Independent 165. Wekomba Sarah Nambozo Woman Representative Bulambuli NRM 166. Zambaali Bulasio Mukasa Nansana Municipality Wakiso NUP 167. Uhuru Nelson Maracha County Maracha NRM 168. Wembabazi Beatrice Woman Representative Hoima NRM 169. Zawedde Victorious Woman Representative Nakasongola NRM The Uganda National Anthem The East African Community Anthem (The House rose at 4.15 p.m. and adjourned until Friday, 15 May 2026, at 8.00 a.m.)

4 ADMINISTRATION OF OATHS 103. Kalenzi Victor Bunyangabu County Bunyangabu NRM 104. Basajjassubi Nsereko Charles Nakaseke South County Nakaseke NRM Kawuma 105. Baseke Fred Ntenjeru County South Kayunga NRM 106. Bright Tom Amooti Kyaka Central County Kyegegwa NRM 107. Bazaanya Matayo Bugabula County South Kamuli NRM 108. Begiira Samuel Youth Representative Central NRM 109. Begumisa Protazio Ndorwa County East Kabale NRM 110. Bagiire Aggrey Henry Bunya County West Mayuge NRM 111. Baryayanga Andrew Aja Kabale Municipality Kabale NRM 112. Bassajja Iddi Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality Bushenyi NRM 113. Bigirwa Norah Nyendwoha District Woman Representative Buliisa NRM 114. Bingi Patrick Nyanzi Butemba County Kyankwanzi NRM 115. Birungi Annet Workers Representative N/A NRM 116. Birungi Carolyn Nanyondo Kyamuswa County Kalangala NRM 117. Banya Emmanuel Natal Koboko County Koboko NRM 118. Biara Emmanuel Wepukhulu Bulambuli County Bulambuli NRM 119. Kabarokole Sarah District Woman Representative Bunyangabu NRM 120. Bisaso Abdul Kassanda County South Kassanda NRM 121. Bakashaba Christopher Mbarara North Division Mbarara City NRM 122. Oleru Huda Abason Aringa East County Yumbe NRM 123. Kabanda Minsa Nabbengo Kampala Central Division Kampala NRM 124. Bebona Josephine Babungi District Woman Representative Bundibugyo NRM 125. Baguma Spellanza Muhenda District Woman Representative Kyenjojo Independent 126. Batuwa Timothy Lusala Jinja South Division West Jinja City NUP 127. Byamukama Fred Bugangaizi West County Kakumiro NRM 128. Kadaga Rebecca Alitwala District Woman Representative Kamuli NRM 129. Byamukama Rogers Masindi Municipality Masindi NRM 130. Byanyima Nathan Bukanga North County Isingiro NRM 131. Byibesho Sam Kisoro Municipality Kisoro NRM 132. Byuma Oswald Dez Mawogola County Ssembabule NRM 133. Cadet Benjamin Bunyaruguru County Rubirizi NRM 134. Challa Elma Kapel Youth Representative Northern NRM 135. Chandia Benadette Kodili District Woman Representative Moyo NRM 136. Chemonges William Kween County Kween NRM 137. Chemutai Phyllis District Woman Representative Kapchorwa Independent 138. Cheutich Rufina District Woman Representative Amudat NRM 139. Dramviku Eric Sabiti Terego West County Terego NRM 140. Driwaru Jennifer District Woman Representative Maracha NRM 141. Echodu David Calvin Soroti West County Soroti City NRM 142. Edakasi Alfred Elalu-Olale Kaberamaido County Kaberamaido NRM 143. Ediau Samuel Amuria County Amuria NRM 144. Edopu Peter Edeku Dakabela County Soroti NRM 145. Ekoro Alex Irukan Bunya County East Mayuge NRM 146. Elem Leo Moroto County Alebtong UPC 147. Emaju Peter Paul Kasilo County Serere NRM 148. Eron Tonny Kwania County Kwania NRM 149. Etilu Margaret District Woman Representative Amuria NRM 150. Bagoole Ngobi John Luuka North County Luuka NRM 151. Eunice Otuko Apio Oyam County North Oyam UPC 152. Kamuntu Ephraim Sheema County South Sheema NRM

Hon. Nathan, the Government has a very good plan for this. We are transiting, and as we have said, as the Government, we are going to have these universities in every subregion. Even in our Bugisu Region, we are going to have one where Elgon was. We are going to have it. Let us hear from the committee chairman first.

18722 SECTORAL COMMITTEE REPORT [Mr Masaba] Shs 500 million, these enterprises can retain more working capital. In a developing economy like Uganda, where access to affordable credit is limited, this interest-free liquidity is vital for day-to-day operations and survival. For the record, Hon. Silwany was asking for the minutes. All the witnesses who came before us had requested us to increase it to about Shs 500 million. The Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) initially proposed that the threshold be increased to about Shs 1 billion. In their meeting with the President, they came to a neutral ground of about Shs 500 million. Therefore, as committee members who signed this minority report, we were surprised that the committee is instead going with the position that the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development is proposing instead of the one that all the witnesses agreed to. Clause IV of the Bill is our second area of dissent. We object to the proposed change in Section 28 of the principal Act. We want to lower the investment threshold and extend the input tax credit window, specifically, the entry barrier for local investors. We are looking at our Ugandans. This section deals with both the foreigners and locals so, our area of dissent is the threshold on investors – (Interjections) - yes, under the hotels. The current threshold of $10 million for foreigners and $5 million for citizens is prohibitive for many domestic investors. Reducing the requirement to $500,000 for local investors investing in rural areas, and maintaining the committee position of $1.4 million for those in urban areas, is our proposal. We want to have a different rate for those who are investing in the rural areas. Madam Speaker, high thresholds favour large multinational chains that often repatriate profits. Lower thresholds empower local enterprises to build facilities that reflect indigenous culture and retain wealth within the country. For instance, a local investor wanting to build a 20-room eco-lodge in the Sipi Falls or Mount Elgon area may struggle to hit the target of $5 million or $1.5 million. However, at about $500,000, they can afford high-quality construction and modern amenities, qualifying for Value-Added Tax (VAT) relief on building materials and professional services, which significantly lowers their initial sunk costs. We also want to bridge the gap between rural and urban development. Madam Speaker, most high-end tourism facilities are clustered in urban centres as well as well-established parks, leaving areas that are not yet well-established, like the Mount Elgon Conservation Area, underserved. By making the rural threshold three times lower than the urban threshold, the Government creates a powerful attraction to invest in these areas. This compensates for the higher logistical costs, transporting materials to remote areas, and the lack of existing infrastructure. Extending the input VAT credit window from two to 10 years is the most appropriate thing, because a hotel is a heavy asset business, including land acquisition, environmental impact assessment, actual designs, and the actual construction of specialised facilities. Two years is rarely enough. If an investor buys steel and cement in one year but does not open the doors until four years, under the old law, they would lose the ability to offset the VAT paid on these initial materials. Similarly, a resort project in a rural setting might face delays due to seasonal rains or the slow installation of facilities such as power. A 10-year window ensures that the investor can recover their VAT once they start generating taxable sales regarding the construction. In simple terms, someone who is constructing a hotel can claim VAT on construction materials - currently, it is up to about six months - as long as the hotel is not commissioned yet. If I am building my hotel and I claim VAT, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) can only refund it on building materials I bought six months ago. The committee position is for two years. Our

18572 CONSIDERATION OF THE BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR FY 2026/2027 The committee further recommends that UNBS should quickly inform the general public of any harmful products that may be in circulation. Vote 110 -Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) On the matter of full operationalisation of Namanve campus, the committee recommends that Government provides Shs 6.2 billion to UIRI for acquisition of additional machinery in the short to medium term. Vote 168 - Uganda Free Zones and Exports Promotions Authority (UFZEPA) On the matter of high litigation expenses, the committee recommends that UFZEPA seeks the services of the Attorney-General in some of its legal matters to reduce on its expenditure on externally outsourced law firms. Votes 601-935 - Local Governments On the need to scale up transitional trade and industry development grants to local governments, the committee reiterates its earlier recommendation that MOFPED sensitise all local governments on the procedures for accessing the transitional development trade and industry grant to enable other qualifying local governments to benefit from the same. The committee further recommends that the budget for the transitional development trade and industry grant be increased to cater for more local governments. Madam Speaker, we will proceed straight to the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities Ministerial Policy Statements for the Financial Year 2026/2027. Vote 022 - Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities On the matter of inadequate funding to the tourism development programme, the committee recommends that Government adequately funds the tourism development programme for it to contribute to the Ten-fold Growth Strategy and Double-Digit Growth by the end of the National Development Plan IV (NDPIV). The committee further recommends that the Government should explore various means of funding the Mount Elgon Tourism Infrastructure Development Project. On the matter of funding for review of programme policies and regulatory framework, the committee recommends that Government allocates an additional Shs 2 billion to the ministry for tourism to enable the review of the policy and regulatory framework of the Tourism Development Programme. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) Madam Speaker, regarding the issue of accountability of local governments on UWA revenues shared, the committee recommends that Uganda Wildlife Authority expedites the process of reviewing the regulatory framework for wildlife conservation, which is to also address the revenue sharing programme. On the absence of governing councils or boards in Uganda Wildlife Research Training School and the Hotel Tourism Training College (HTTC), the committee recommends that the Ministry of Education and Sports expedites the process of developing the regulations for operationalising the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Act to aid the appointments to the governing councils. The committee further recommends that Government should amend the TVET Act to include professionals in the tourism, hospitality and wildlife research, to take into consideration representation of the college’s interests. Vote 117 - Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) On the need to eliminate the cost of hiring law firms, the committee recommends that Uganda Tourism Board seeks for the services of the Attorney-General in some of its legal matters to reduce on its expenditure on externally outsourced law firms.

17944 TRIBUTE TO THE UGANDA NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM Hon. Kugonza, on the issue of the black rhino, it is true we are in discussion with our neighbours, namely Kenya and South Africa. They have agreed to donate to us some black rhinos after our success story with the white rhinos. Soon we should be able to have black rhinos in the country, multiply them and reintroduce them into the wild. Vermin is usually an issue we handle with the districts. There are people we call the vermin control officers and they know how to deal with these animals. In the scenario where it is a big issue, we can come in. I have picked the area you have mentioned in Kibale. We can discuss more about this and see how we can beef up the district team, so that we resolve the vermin issue. It should not be a big problem. Dr Ayume, on the issue of marketing; I would like to thank the Government because there is an improvement in the tourism budget now. Even through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a couple of interventions to make sure that Uganda is showcased out there as indeed the pearl of Africa. We will continue coming to the Government and Parliament, to request for more support. Marketing can only be spoken to in terms of the investment you put in. There is no rocket science to it. However, we will also do what we can with the resources we have and our figures are clear. The revenues we have been bringing into this country have been growing every year. And this shows that some work is being done. I agree, that Uganda is well-positioned for medical tourism and there are a couple of discussions that we are having with a number of investors who have shown interest. I think that at an opportune time, we would have this discussion. On the issue of Mt Elgon – we have been to Cabinet – it is not only in Mt Elgon, there is an issue that was brought to this Floor to do with Mbwa tract, where we erroneously gazetted some land. This is an issue of the law. The law did away with the degazetating in the Act. We are in Cabinet trying to see how we can amend the Act so that we resolve some of these conflicts, including those around Mt Elgon. There are actually some areas – because in Elgon, there is land that was encroached on a long time ago. When we were redrawing the boundary, we actually gave that land to the community. The only issue now is that we cannot legally degazette it until we amend the Act. However, the land is already for the community and we have no interest in it. There are some issues we are handling with the Attorney-General and the law so that we resolve the issues. However, like the Speaker guided, we do not just implement a boundary without proper consultation with the community. These should not be worrying issues. Thank you.

The clarification I was seeking is in line with Hon. Chemonges’ submission and concern. We have a community that has been relocated to some – almost the centre of Mt Elgon National Park – the Benet. They are living inside there. So, if you put or implemented the fence initiative, I do not know where you would – they have been there for 30 years. You ought to visit them. Equally, in Bududa there is a similar population that has also been relocated to the park and they have lived there for over 10 years. These are the challenges that may make it extremely difficult for you to implement the fencing initiative.

Thank you. Like I said, this issue is being handled by the Prime Minister’s Office. I do not want to get into the details of what happened between me and you. We have been to Elgon. Actually, the Benet were resettled and land was given but some people took the land away from the Benet and they did not benefit. It is a challenge we are dealing with. We still believe that there should be a provision for them. [Mr Mugarra] MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

17945 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA WEDNESDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2025 We know the affected communities and those that need to be compensated. We will see how we resolve the issue. Honourable, as a leader from Elgon, you should also know that we also have challenges with people that are consistently encroaching on the park. These are issues we are discussing and we should be able to resolve them.

Honourable minister, mine is similar to what the people of Elgon are talking about; the boundary. You realise that Pakwach borders the park but there is a water body that separates them. Many times, our fishermen are arrested by rangers on the water yet there is no clear boundary. There is no effort by the Government to put a clear boundary as to where fishermen can stop. As I speak – I shared with you already – two of our people, Brian and Boniface, were arrested in May this year. We have looked for them in all police cells but we cannot find them yet they were arrested by rangers on the water while fishing. We also need boundaries on water bodies that border national parks so that there is no – this time it is not even a human- animal conflict but a human-to-human conflict. Thank you.

17459 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA THURSDAY, 29 MAY 2025 This was triggered by heavy rainfall. The landslides buried entire villages on the slopes of Mount Elgon, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing thousands of people. The disaster, which mainly affected the villages of Nametsi, Kubeho and Namakansa, highlights complex issues surrounding land management, disaster preparedness, resettlement planning, and environmental conservation. They were very unavailable there at that time. While exercising its mandate, the Office of the Prime Minister relocated 603 families to Panyandoli in the Kiryandongo District. In 2011, the Government initiated the construction of permanent low-cost houses for survivors of the March 2010 landslides who were relocated to Panyandoli Hills in the Kiryandongo District. The resettlement programme was implemented in phases, including the acquisition and allocation of 2.5 acres of land to each household, the provision of relief food for 10 complete months, support for land clearance, supply of seeds and agricultural inputs and access to education and health services within the settlement. The oversight visit to Kiryandongo revealed significant challenges faced by IDPs from Bududa, including inadequate shelter, land security, food and health care. Some of the structures were already showing signs of collapse, unfortunately. The committee, therefore, recommends that the Government prioritises the provision of essential services and support to the IDPs. Furthermore, the committee also calls for increased transparency and accountability in the management of funds allocated to IDP support. The Government should also develop a comprehensive plan for the sustainable resettlement and reintegration of IDPs in the entire country to avoid the repetition of what is happening in Kiryandongo. Unfortunately, when I talk of integration, what I saw there was a little bit distressing. The people there still believe they are not part and parcel of Kiryandongo; they still believe that they are part of Bugisu. They do not want to integrate with the local communities and that alone, of course, brings in quite a number of challenges. The details are within the report because I was given just only 20 minutes. Another summary is on the report on the Kampala City Abattoir. We only have one city abattoir, that is around Port Bell Road. The Kampala City Abattoir is the largest slaughterhouse in Kampala, processing livestock for both local consumption and distribution to various markets within Kampala and its environs. It operates under the supervision of Kampala Capital City Authority’s health department, veterinary services and other regulatory agencies. The Kampala City Abattoir is located on Plots 1, 2 and 3 Old Port Bell Road in Kampala and has been a site of significant controversy and legal disputes over its management and oversight. The abattoir initially was managed by Kampala City Council (KCC) and became the centre of complex conflict involving multiple stakeholders, including KCCA, Basajjabalaba Hides and Skins and Company Limited, Dan Kwantampola Katarihwa, and also the City Abattoir Traders Development Association (CTDA). All those were entangled in horrible conflicts that have gone through the decades. On 27 March 2016, Madam Speaker, His Excellency President Museveni, met the informal sector members, including City Traders Development Association (CTDA) and directed that the abattoir be repossessed by KCCA and tendered to the sitting tenants, which was CTDA. The President also instructed KCCA to determine reasonable rates for the traders. Findings i. The Kampala City Abattoir is not fully owned and managed by KCCA due to

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I thank the committee for its report and the Ministry of Works and Transport for the support they are giving us. Mr Speaker, Bulambuli District is in a mountainous location. The terrain is very difficult, especially during the heavy rains when the volcanic soils are washed down. Our road of about 50 kilometres from Simu Corner going up to Bufumbo, bordering Kapchorwa District, winding up to Bulaago, which borders Mt Elgon National Park, with a tee-off to Buluganya up to Buyaga Town Council, where it joins the main road, was put in the manifesto in 2016. In 2021, the road was removed from the manifesto. His Excellency the President pledged that being a difficult terrain, let us use low-cost sealing technology. We welcomed that. However, up to now, I do not see our road surfacing anywhere. We are still struggling. When it rains, actually, we fail to get to our places because all the volcanic soils and the little murram that is put during maintenance are washed away. I would like the ministry to give us urgent attention – including the associated bridges, because we have many rivers from Mt Elgon flowing down to the valley. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question goes to the honourable minister. Last year, around June, the Govern - ment took over 46 schools from the community under grant aid. The teachers were subjected to interviews at the schools in various places in the country. To date, all these teachers have not been ac - cessed on the payroll, and we are now in April. We are left with about one month to end the financial year. The money was provided, and as I speak, teachers are disgruntled. They got the appointment letters, assumed duty, and their acceptance letters were submitted to the Ministries of Education and Sports and Public Service, but to date, they have not accessed the payroll. The second thing is the issue of staff quarters. Some of the areas, especially Elgon North, are hard-to-reach like Buginyanya Comprehensive Secondary School. We have teachers who have been posted there. The only thing they did was

17188 BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR THE FY 2025/2026 Honourable minister, if we can get money – I am a resident in his place, they do not have a Government secondary school. There are only three primary schools, and one of which is an Army school, Chepsikunya. Hon. Chemaswet needs affirmative action. I beg that we look for money in the budget and at least start a school for him. If the ministry is overwhelmed, you can send the money to the district for them to kick-start. That area has land, my area, and other mountain areas of Elgon are hard-to-reach. Normally, we need to know the policy for retaining teachers. You post teachers from other places, but the challenge we have is that they go there to access the payroll, then move the following year and do not replace them. Why can’t you take the locals? They are there, but they say no, the recruitment has been centralised. Another point is that there are construction projects that were abandoned by the Government. A number of schools, even in my constituency, before I even came to Parliament, I have just seen in the Auditor-General’s report – (Member timed out.)

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Bugisu has been a subject matter and has faced a number of challenges through landslides and some of the victims were relocated to Kiryandongo and given land, commonly called “Ranch 18”. However, at the moment, that land has been removed from them, the occupants have been evicted and beaten. Right now, 19 of the leaders who tried to help other people to resist have been imprisoned and the rest are on the run. Mr Speaker, this comes at a time when the Government is talking about the people of Elgon, especially those in areas which are dangerous, to be relocated. It puts that programme in a dilemma if the former people who have been taken are not being taken care of and are being evicted. Prayers 1. The Office of the Prime Minister should make an intervention to that effect and bring a report to this House on how they

Mr Speaker, I thank the chairman for the presentation. It touches all of us and I am happy you guided that at a later stage, we should be given ample time to raise issues concerning the report. This is because the security of this country is very fundamental for the development of socio-economic development of this country. In the report, the recommendations have been made, particularly on the welfare of our security people. It is upon their security and welfare that the security of this country will be guaranteed. I hope we shall discuss. I am happy that the issue of equity has been raised because when you go down there in the field, there are some people whose salaries have been enhanced. We wondered what criteria was used because there are those on the same rank, where some people have been paid, and others have not. When you ask what the criteria was, they tell you to leave that alone - even the promotions. I think some even go out there - my colleagues may testify. Some ask us how they can be able to be elevated or even be posted to a better station. On the question of the high numbers of prisoners, I think we used to have what we call, “visiting justice” in prisons, even at police station cells to establish how some people have overstayed in prisons. You may find some people have stayed there for so long on petty matters and those with serious issues are released. On the question of deployment, I would like to thank the President. He said that in order to enhance the security at the subcounty, there will be deployment of policemen. Now, in the Elgon zone - maybe my colleagues will help me out – it seems the deployment at the subcounty has not been made. In the subcounty, we are supposed to have policemen with the police

16679 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA THURSDAY, 6 MARCH 2025 commitment and support towards the landslide resettlement of people in Mount Elgon. Since we started the exercise, Rt Hon. Prime Minister, you flagged off the verification exercise, and since that started, in the Bulambuli District, we have 16 subcounties which have been mapped as affected, where the verification exercise was to be carried out. As I talk now, they have only finished three subcounties, and two of them, that is, Namisuni and Sisiyi in Elgon North and Simu in Elgon. They have now moved to the fourth subcounty, which is Guluganya, where the landslide actually occurred last time, and here they had only verified four villages out of the 19 in that one parish, but Buluganya has 57 villages. Only four have been verified, and I was surprised to hear that the exercise of verification had stopped. We know the rains are commencing soon, mid this month, and we expect our people to be verified and relocated to safer ground. I would ask for your urgent intervention that your team from OPM continue with verifying the remaining subcounties in the Bulambuli District so that our people can be relocated before the rains commence. Secondly, Rt Hon. Prime Minister -(Member timed out.)

16679 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA THURSDAY, 6 MARCH 2025 commitment and support towards the landslide resettlement of people in Mount Elgon. Since we started the exercise, Rt Hon. Prime Minister, you flagged off the verification exercise, and since that started, in the Bulambuli District, we have 16 subcounties which have been mapped as affected, where the verification exercise was to be carried out. As I talk now, they have only finished three subcounties, and two of them, that is, Namisuni and Sisiyi in Elgon North and Simu in Elgon. They have now moved to the fourth subcounty, which is Guluganya, where the landslide actually occurred last time, and here they had only verified four villages out of the 19 in that one parish, but Buluganya has 57 villages. Only four have been verified, and I was surprised to hear that the exercise of verification had stopped. We know the rains are commencing soon, mid this month, and we expect our people to be verified and relocated to safer ground. I would ask for your urgent intervention that your team from OPM continue with verifying the remaining subcounties in the Bulambuli District so that our people can be relocated before the rains commence. Secondly, Rt Hon. Prime Minister -(Member timed out.)

Madam Speaker, I am seeking clarification from the minister because much as I am very supportive of massive tree planting, I hail from a place which has been environmentally degraded. I also appreciate the crucial role that leadership provides in climate change mitigation but the million-dollar question is, for places like Bududa where we have numerous cracks, even if you did massive planting of trees, that will not nip those cracks in the bud because landslides occur in Mount Elgon National Park where there are indigenous trees that have deep roots which you would have expected to anchor the soil firmly in the ground. What should we do? The mitigation measure should have been relocation of the people to save their lives, but this exercise is going on at a snail’s pace. From time immemorial - it is now over 10 years - they have so far attempted to only relocate and resettle 51 households out of a target of 100,000. Madam Speaker, with the change in rainfall patterns because of climate change, anything could happen in Bududa, by the way, because we are experiencing heavy downpours and landslides. Incidentally, the mother of my good friend the minister, Mama Mabira – (Interjections) - no, she is still both and hails from Bududa. The mother is my relative and

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity. I want to thank the minister for his statement. In the case of Bulambuli, where we experienced landslides last November, we are in the process of relocating our people and resettling them in a safer place. The people who are affected currently in my district of Bulambuli, are those in Elgon North constituency and Elgon constituency. The resettlement camp where the Government is set to procure more land to resettle them is in Bulambuli constituency on the lower side. We are in the process of verifying these people before they can be resettled in another place. [Mr Komakech MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity. I want to thank the minister for his statement. In the case of Bulambuli, where we experienced landslides last November, we are in the process of relocating our people and resettling them in a safer place. The people who are affected currently in my district of Bulambuli, are those in Elgon North constituency and Elgon constituency. The resettlement camp where the Government is set to procure more land to resettle them is in Bulambuli constituency on the lower side. We are in the process of verifying these people before they can be resettled in another place. [Mr Komakech MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I come from Budadiri East, which is on the Mount Elgon slope but I wonder if the scope and terms of reference stopped on the other side because I do not see any district to do with Mount Elgon in your report. Two, these areas, which were made game parks, were initially game reserves. I expected, in the committee report, to see why the communities in some of these areas have continuously violated the boundaries of the game parks. These communities were not compensated. As the land was taken over by the Government from the game reserves - the minister is aware of - for example, the communities living in the Mount Elgon belt to the National Park were supposed to be compensated by the Government. To date, they have not. Out of 21 subcounties in my constituency, six of them have been affected and they have never been compensated. I recommend that the Government expedites the process, as one of your recommendations in

16014 SECTORAL COMMITTEE REPORT that report, of paying these communities so that they can be able to observe the demarcations by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Secondly, you talk about electric fencing but in the Mount Elgon region, you will discover that electricity has never reached all communities neighbouring the mountain. Honourable minister, in your planning, you should have captured and ensured that those areas have electricity. The last one is about monkeys. Much as we recommend electric fencing, I do not know if they will also capture the monkeys – (Member timed out.)

16015 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA TUESDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2025 They are supposed to come before Cabinet. Look into this so that you sort out issues of human-wildlife conflict. In fact, leave alone human-wildlife conflict. It is the UWA-people conflict whereby UWA says, Mbale town is a national park. I think we should move Mbale. (Laughter) These are issues, which were determined by the government then. These people did not put themselves there. For us the Bakiga, when we were coming, Omugabe Gasyonga brought my grandfather and said, “If you have energy, wherever you can stop cutting, that is the land you will take.” That is why we have land there. Otherwise, you will have to take all of us; over 60,000 people, out. We need titles. You even allowed people to make titles and now you are coming to say, “You are in our land.” I have passionately talked about this because of the Elgon issue. People there are doing badly. We go there and we promise but never implement. Therefore, I request the Attorney-General to interest himself in this matter, together with the Directorate of Legal Affairs and the minister, because they told us they have got a solution. They need it before Cabinet. This is the only realistic way we are going to solve issues to do with contestation over land between UWA and the local people. I am sorry I have gone deeper but I felt I should give you that information since I was there. Hon. Sekyanzi and Hon. Emma.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to thank the chairperson of the committee for the report. However, my attention was drawn to the details of the report by the Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. We all know that agriculture is the backbone of this country’s economy and it is my opinion that we need to focus on agriculture because, if we improve the agricultural sector in this country, all the people will get the money they need. For example, in Uganda, much of the land that has reliable rainfall is densely populated. Elgon Subregion is a classic example where there is a lot of rain; you can hardly get a person with five acres of land and that means a person has to farm for only domestic use. If he works only for domestic use, he will not get what the Government would like him to. I, therefore, suggest that in our lower belts, for example, in the lower belt of Sebei Subregion, there is a very big chunk of land, which is very

Thank you, Mr Speaker. First, I want to state that we may not have the excess power as it is stated because there are so many people lacking power, including factories and households. Allow me to thank the chairperson for the report, but also make a few comments. I come from a village setting and when you are lighting a fire, you do not put a log and begin lighting it. You first light the small branches that will eventually light the log. We are leaving out certain departments and sections like tourism. She has alluded to the fact that it has been considered but, Mr Speaker, the budget for tourism is too small. In Elgon Subregion, as she said, we have over a thousand waterfalls but all these sites have not been developed because there is no money. We do not have tourism roads in that region; so, the tourists cannot enjoy the beauty of this country. It is my prayer that a re-visitation is done; we need money for tourism because it will open up many other sectors. The hotels will boom, and employment at the individual level will be there; so we need money in that section. Power: If we have power, many individuals are willing to set up their enterprises but they do not have power. I come from an area that grows coffee; they are willing to set up coffee

I know how emotional such a matter can be. I do not think the Prime Minister wrote a letter saying, “Continue killing these people.” I know the emotions on such a matter because I have been to the Bugisu side of Mount Elgon National Park and I was hosted by Hon. John Faith Magolo on top of Mount Wanale, where those people nearly did a second imbalu on me. I survived narrowly because we were on serious matters. When I heard Kadodi coming –(Laughter) – I had to plead that I had already done imbalu the Rukiga way. These guys were about to grab me – Hon. Mudimi’s people; they always threaten when you visit. On a serious note, the issue has been glaring. We have talked about this issue and I do not know why we cannot sort out the issue of boundaries of Mount Elgon National Park. Otherwise, that is where the problem is. The moment you sort out that issue, you will have sorted all these problems. If you do not – the more you keep postponing it, the more it will continue reoccurring. And Rt Hon. Prime Minister, people say that during campaigns, the President said, “We shall go with boundaries of 1992.” UWA is saying, “We must go with the boundaries of 1963.” I face the same problem in my constituency. In my area, the Bakiga in the 1950s requested space in Ankole, Bunyoro and Toro and they were given part of Queen Elizabeth National Park but these people did not reflect it within the Gazette, up to date. Recently, they were there and the National Forest Authority (NFA) came and started entering people’s homes, saying, “You are in forest land,” yet those people were born there from the 1950s. That was when I assigned the committee to move around and I got information from the chairperson of the Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industry today that their report is ready and it aims at sorting out those issues. I know that Prof. Mushemeza and Hon. Namugga are members of the committee; so I request that on Tuesday, we have that report since it is going to tackle areas in the whole country that have such issues and the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities should come and specifically respond to this issue. In fact, Hon. Chemonges, the bodies are available. In our area, we do a funeral. Recently, I was there and I heard so-and-so had been killed. I asked about the burial, they said “No, we do a funeral because if you go back to the park to pick the body, you will also die.” So, you are left to the animals. They are eaten by animals. I think this year, they told me that they have already lost about 14 people and you cannot go back to pick the body. They do not accept that they killed the person – Otherwise, you are going to be eaten by hyenas since there is no evidence. You cannot go to the park to start looking for the body. In fact, these people know how they communicate. They say, “We were with so- and-so, we escaped but he died,” and we do funeral rites and it goes like that. I think this has to stop. As we protect our national heritage, [Ms Nakadama] COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I also join colleagues to thank the committee for the report. The issue of compensation started way back in the Eighth Parliament. By then, the Attorney-General indicated that some areas like Sebei and Bugisu should be included. However, I have heard the Deputy Attorney-General saying that they are yet to prepare a Cabinet memo. After 20 years, Deputy Attorney-General, doesn’t Cabinet sit? For some of us who neighbour districts like the Teso Sub-region, once the wanainchi hear that funds have been given to those people, it becomes very difficult for us to explain. We even asked His Excellency, the President, recently when he was in Bugisu, and he said that the matter would be handled. However, the Deputy Attorney-General says they are yet to prepare a Cabinet memo. We need to get a solution here so we tell the people that we in the Elgon Sub-region, are waiting for a Cabinet memo. That is the message we should tell the people. We have been telling them, “Wait, the Government is trying to come out,” but up to now, we do not see anything. We are moving towards the elections. One of our colleagues here mentioned that one time he lost because of compensation. The time he went back for re-election, they asked him, “You said you are going to lobby for compensation for our animals. Where are they?” He is not here. Therefore, we need to have a structured message, which we should take back to the people, that much as the other subregions are

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Rt Hon. Prime Minister, you recall, it has been two months since we had the disaster in our place and a number of infrastructure got damaged – bridges and roads. There is a specific bridge, which connects most of the sub-counties of Elgon County – five of them, which was washed away. I have talked to the Ministry of Works and Transport. They said they do not have a budget, but we have a provision under Sections 26 and 27 of the Public Finance Management Act – the Contingency Fund. Is there a way the Government can fix that bridge under the Contingency Fund? The cost of goods has doubled and the wananchi are suffering.

Madam Speaker that is a task that we will take on with the Attorney-General, and we will report back to Parliament. Madam Speaker, I want to say something on the disaster risk management policy. The policy is exactly what the honourable member talked about, but we have to fund the policy. The policy looks at decentralisation of the approach on response. We need to procure equipment. If we know that Bududa in the Elgon Region, is prone to landslides, then the equipment meant for response to landslides must be assembled within that area. However, we cannot implement the policy the way it is if we do not fund it.

I would like to give this information to the honourable colleague. There are many people from the Elgon area who are buying coffee from Zombo, for blending, and they pack it as Elgon coffee because we are not packaging at the moment. Zombo has been growing coffee for a very, very long time and we are not about to stop growing Arabica coffee.

Madam Speaker, the colleague has made a very dangerous statement that Zombo coffee is used for blending Bugisu Arabica coffee. I think you are making a fundamental mistake (Laughter), and I can state that, all over the world, the best coffee in this world, which is Arabica coffee, comes from Mount Elgon.

Blending is not adulteration. I understand that English very well: blending is not adulteration. And, we are all growing Arabica Coffee. We are, apparently, at the same altitude as Elgon, although they are slightly higher. The Arabica Coffee that we are growing is the same; it is not about adulteration. I really pray that we take it that way.

Madam Speaker, I want him to withdraw it. The reason is that for Bugisu Arabica Coffee, if you mix it with coffee from Zombo, it ceases to be “Elgon Pride”. If you are the one taking our coffee to brand, and making it “Zombo Coffee”, you are making a mistake. We want to clearly state that our coffee can never - if there are businessmen who are blending it, that is the businessmen, but there is no way Bugisu coffee can be blended with Zombo’s.

I want to say this: right now, we have many business people from the Elgon in Paidha Town. Should we order

Madam Chair - person, I want to state that we produce Elgon Pride, and it should be consumed. The com - mittee – why I have brought up this is that we want the ministry to be the advertising agent for people who are producing coffee locally. So, I want to agree with the Attorney-General that, for section 42, we only amend the word “authority”. The rest should remain.

14714 STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT for the farmers, traceability, extension services, and maybe regulation and planning. However, in my sub region where we are growers of Arabica coffee, farmers are holding your ministry and UCDA in suspicion, especially now that they are to establish and maintain a national register for farmers. Is it not about levying a tax on them? That is one of the concerns. The second one is that your statement, especially mentions acreage – that they have to establish the acreage of the farm. In Mount Elgon, Bugisu and Sebei, we have a challenge of land fragmentation. The farming is being done on very small plots. I do not know whether it is an ulterior motive to edge out those small- scale farmers. That is another concern. Could you, please, draw clarity on that?

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to speak to the motion raised by Hon. Ogwang, the Minister of State for Education and Sports. Hon. Ogwang has come up with various motions. There was a time we debated a motion here and I know very well that the resolutions were sent probably to the office of the Prime Minister for implementation, but I also know that at times, there are those who sit on the resolutions. We do not want to just speak to the motion whose resolutions may not be implemented – that we only speak and everything ends here in our seats. Mr Speaker, when resolutions of Parliament are being transmitted to the Prime Minister, the same resolutions ought to be copied to Members of Parliament. This will help us to understand that our resolutions have been appreciated by the Executive; let me speak to this motion. There are two things that have given Sebei and Uganda a name: one is that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Government has provided security in Sebei and the whole of Uganda. ( Applause) The other is the athletes who have lifted the name of Sebei and equally, Uganda. ( Applause) Kenya, to us, is not an issue. It is just a crossing point. It is just a river dividing us with our brothers on the other side. So, with me, crossing the other side is not a problem because I do not use my passport to go to Kenya. I just walk to the other side, meet my relatives, and talk to them. Our brothers on the other side felt the pain when our sister, Stg Rebecca Cheptegei died; they equally condemned the incident. Amb. Dr Kurgat from Eldoret called me, he was the supervisor for my master’s programme because I did a thesis on the emergence of land conflicts in Mount Elgon District in Kenya where the same boy came from and I think he had lost his parents because of the Sabaot Land Defense Forces in Mount Elgon and had issues as well that affected him very much. Dr Kurgat, who was an ambassador in Moscow, told me, “Chemaswet, I think this must have been the cause of the thesis that you researched on”, the emergence of Sabaot Land Defense Forces in Mount Elgon, which was a bigger war. It was a real fight over land matters. That is why it is always important and paramount that land matters are addressed by Government including that of the Benet people as we speak. Sgt Rebeca Cheptegei committed to me for two hours and thirty minutes during the event in Paris. I do not always watch television because the news is always about propaganda; I only watch athletics. Also, I do not watch football because there is a lot of betting. I fear betting, having lost KShs 100 in 1984 because of three cards only. One was money and the other two were not. So, the guy played it and I lost the money; I have never liked betting. Although, I am an Arsenal supporter. (Applause)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am Katenya Isaac, the Member of Parliament for Bulambuli County in the Bugisu Subregion, the land of circumcision. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. My name is Gerald Nangoli, Member of Parliament, Elgon North County in Bulambuli District, Bugisu Subregion. I am also the Vice-Chairperson of the Bugisu Parliamentary Caucus. Thank you.

Madam Speaker, I take this auspicious and historic occasion to welcome you to Northern Uganda, particularly Gulu City. Madam Speaker, sitting to conduct business of Parliament in this beautiful, lively and peaceful city, especially on Kaunda Grounds here two decades after the war in this region, gives me hope that as long as communities live, anything is possible in their journeys. I now have great hope in the transformation and development of the region and I thank the people, their leaders, the Government of Uganda for their resilience and resolve for peace. This peace and tranquillity came at a huge cost and we should guard it jealously. When I talk about Northern Uganda, which falls under my docket, I mean the six subregions of Uganda; West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Elgon and its slopes which is Bugisu, Sebei and Bukedi, touching the international borders of the DRC, South Sudan and Kenya in the east. However, for this sitting, Madam Speaker, and my statement, I will confine myself to the subregions of West Nile, Acholi and Lango. I will wait for you - MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Since the courts of law give justice to everybody, I hope that matter will be disposed of. But the point is: Aswa Ranch, as we speak, has the potential of revamping the cattle economy in this entire region. Secondly, Madam Speaker, what we have also gathered from this committee is that people here want the facilities for the mechanisation of agriculture. The vast lands here, Madam Speaker - open land with the primitive tools - hand holes, and at best the ox-ploughs cannot meet the economic demand of production that we are talking about. Therefore, these are the areas that we want to discuss with the population so that the Government can invest in mechanisation by providing tractors. All the regions I have met, including those in the hills of Mount Elgon, want tractors to mechanise and produce massively. And these are the things that I want us to begin talking about. The other thing, Madam Speaker, is about facilities for value addition. Many areas are beginning to produce dairy, beef and other crop products that need value addition. We see maize and wheat in some places. There is also milk. Milk production is also increasing in this region. However, there are still very few facilities for value addition. This is what we want the Government to be doing. We want, as the Government, to begin thinking about giving facilities to the population to add value to what they are doing. Madam Speaker, it is true there are still areas in Northern Uganda here that have got poor access. These roads you hear being talked about,

Mr Speaker, I move under Rule 28 of the Rules of Procedure, to present to Parliament the business for the succeeding week – that will take us from 20 to 22 August, 2024. 1. The Ministry of Water and Environment we will present a statement, updating the House on the weather forecast in the country. 2. A comprehensive statement by the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs on the roadmap leading to the 2026 elections. 3. The Ministry of Education and Sports will present a detailed statement to Parliament on the boarding school policy. 4. Statement by the minister for disaster preparedness and refugees on the plans for people living in susceptible disaster areas of the Rwenzori and Mount Elgon, as we are approaching the rainy season. Mr Speaker, I beg to submit.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise on a matter of national importance concerning the cutting of crops, mainly, maize, Irish potatoes, and beans in my constituency; that is between the border of Kween District and Mount Elgon National Park. I get ashamed to talk about it every time, but I have no alternative. I have got to repeat it. This matter is one of those that we have failed to get a solution. Last week, my colleague, Hon. Evelyn, talked about it, when the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) officers shot five cows along the main road in Bukwo. Not even a month has passed, but they cut over 30 acres of Irish Potatoes and maize, which is now remaining with one month to be harvested. Mr Speaker, yesterday I sent you the photos - and you can check on WhatsApp when you are free - of women crying and holding their maize. My Resident District Commissioner (RDC) went to UWA offices and showed them to their bosses. The director and others there looked shocked. We have failed to understand why it has taken the Government over 30 years to sort out a very simple matter; to demarcate the permanent boundary between the people and the National Park – (Interruption)

Thank you, honourable, for giving way. The running battles between communities living along the fringes of Mount Elgon National Park and the UWA personnel have been going on for a long time. They are trigger-happy and they even shoot. It cuts across. It is not only in the Sebei Subregion, it is all over the Bugisu and Sebei subregions. The information I would like to give the honourable colleague is that these UWA personnel are so corrupt that they extort money from members of the community and allocate them pieces of land inside the forest. For some of these crops that are cut, they wait until they have matured; some crops take longer. For instance, some people have grown matooke and others maize. When it is about to be harvested, they subject them to fear, when they cut a portion of the crops. They expect people to again pay back. This has been extortion. The information I am giving the colleague is that the running battles between UWA and the people have been going on for a long time. We have lost many of our people to the trigger- happy UWA personnel and something drastic must be done by this Government. This is because it has been going on for over 30 years, as he states.

Honourable minister? Hon. Chemonges, you decided to use your time the way you wanted. However, I understand the issue because when I was a Government Chief Whip, I visited parts of those areas with Hon. John Faith Magolo after we had buried the father of Hon. Wandwasi. I met people on Mount Wanale and I survived the second Imbalu. As we were talking serious business, they started playing kadodi and then someone said, “Ah, these guys are coming for you for Imbalu .” (Laughter) It is not very easy to deal with these guys. I met the leaders that evening. Honourable minister, you will continue having these questions. The other day Hon. Evelyn Chemutai was here on the same issue and Hon. Chemonges has over 10 times raised the same issue. However, the question is very simple; just sort out the issue of the boundaries for Mount Elgon. What is happening on the Sebei side is also happening on the Bugisu side. It is only that the Members of Parliament from Bugisu – now, if I allowed and opened up – the issue is very simple. When I was there people said, “No, “the President said we shall go with the boundaries of 1993 because there is a survey which was carried out in 1993.” Now, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) again says, “No, go back to the ones of the 1960s.” I think it was 1964 or something. Honourable minister, I request that this time you develop a Cabinet paper on this issue; take it to Cabinet and get final guidance from Cabinet and then inform these people whether you want to re- open the boundaries or not so that we have it settled. Honourable minister, first wait; let me hear from Hon. Fadil and Hon. Sarah.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. On the same matter, on 13 April 2023, the President visited the Sebei Subregion and met with the leadership of Bugisu and Sebei. He directed the Prime Minister to open the boundaries between the people of Sebei and Mount Elgon. We then followed up with the Office of the Prime Minister, and she said that in one month she was going to open those boundaries. To date, we are still crying about the same issue. We want a clear answer today so that we have this matter sorted once and for all. Thank you.

13900 MINISTERIAL STATEMENT those to do with conservation, are unfortunate. I have been to Mount Elgon myself and moved across the communities and the boundary ar - eas neighbouring the park so I understand the issues. The same is true in the key area where we have Mbwa Tract. In Kanungu - as the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, we have had discussions. I have interacted with the Members of Parliament and told them about our challenge. Just like Hon. Faith Magolo said, there are some areas where the community encroached into the park and some areas where the boundaries of the park derailed off the actual boundary and partly got into the communities. However, our interest is to resolve the matter once and for all and we have prepared a Cabinet Paper. The Uganda Wildlife Act, 2019 that Parliament passed removed de-gazettement whatsoever. Therefore, it is a matter I cannot resolve as a minister. Mount Elgon National Park is one of the most hostile parks to the rangers in this country. I lose a number of rangers every year because of the fights between the communities and the wildlife. The people on Mount Elgon attack people with guns and sometimes they are shot at and killed; it is unfortunate. My commitment is that we will expedite the Cabinet Paper so that the Cabinet can advise. The Attorney-General has given advice but we need to have the Cabinet’s advice too so that it can resolve the matter. I will do that in the shortest time possible. Thank you.

13523 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA TUESDAY, 2 JULY 2024 Dar-es-salaam, to deploy staff there for easy registration of vehicles, and Shs 3 billion for the operationalisation of inspection services, which were placed under the SGS company. The National Building Review Board was allocated Shs 10 billion, low-cost seal roads were allocated Shs 20 billion, and bridges were allocated Shs 3 billion, community roads improvement - what they call interconnectivity - Shs 33 billion, and Mount Elgon Labour- based Infrastructure Development, Shs 5 billion. Under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, the National Women’s Council was added Shs 3 billion to support the youth, construction equipment for youth, Shs 1.2 billion; rehabilitation of ministry institutions like child rehabilitation centres, Shs 2 billion; Ateker Cultural Gala, which is going to take place in Kidepo, Shs 400 million; JAMAFEST 2024 in South Sudan, Shs 400 million. Funding to support the GROW Project, Shs 500 million. Withdraw, rehabilitate and settle street children was added Shs 500 million. Special Enterprise Grant for older persons, Shs 2 billion. Jua Kali Enterprises, Shs 5 billion. Kireka Rehabilitation Centre (the refurbishment), Shs 460 million. The Ministry of Water and Environment (the support to rural water projects source per village) was added Shs 14.5 billion – (Applause) Strategic Towns Water Supply and Sanitation, Shs 3 billion. Investing in forest and protected areas for climate-smart development (Project 1613), additional Shs 2 billion. Service Coverage Accelerated Project (SCAP- 100 Umbrella), Shs 15 billion. Project 1524, Water and Sanitation Development Facility - East (WSDF), Shs 6 billion. Subvention to National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Shs 1 billion. Ministry of Tourism Subvention to Wildlife Authority, Shs 900 million to construct 15 kilometres of electric fence. Subvention to Uganda Wildlife Authority, Shs 9 billion for compensation for damages due to humanwildlife conflicts and park accidents. Subvention to Uganda Wildlife Research Training Institute to construct a girls’ hostel, Shs 4 billion. IGG was added Shs 6.60 billion of which Shs 1.7 billion is for digitalisation, Shs 4.8 billion for recruitment of staff and Shs 1 billion for staff training. Parliamentary Commission The Shs 8.97 billion was reallocated from capital to recurrent to cater for medical insurance for MPs. Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) Feasibility studies for Kyabakuza-Nambaale road, Shs 1 billion, feasibility studies for Isingiro-Ekityasa, Shs 1 billion. Kampala Capital City Authority, Shs 10 billion for mechanised drainage and de-silting of channels. Ministry of Kampala Capital City Authority and Metropolitan Affairs, Shs 5 billion as counterpart-funding for the restoration of affected properties. Equal Opportunities Commission, Shs 1 billion. National Information Technology Authority, Shs 20 billion to offset domestic arrears

13455 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA THURSDAY, 13 JUNE 2024 commitments were prioritised and delivered in the Financial Year 2023/2024: i) Skilling in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; ii) Construction and equipping of 21 laboratories across the country in selected secondary schools using the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) Engineering Brigade; iii) Upgrading learning facilities in 12 technical institutes and four vocational education centres of excellence at Uganda Technical Colleges in Bushenyi, Bukalasa, Lira and Elgon; and iv) Out of 259 seed secondary schools planned under UGIFT, 105 have been completed and 144 are ongoing. I have provided Shs 2.497 trillion to further improve the quality of education and the following are among the priorities: i) Supporting the new curriculum for S1 to S4 students; ii) Operationalisation of all the 111 seed secondary schools and completing the 27 seed secondary schools under the UGIFT programme; iii) Commencing the construction of 60 secondary schools and expansion of 61 existing secondary schools under the Uganda Secondary Education Expansion Project; iv) Providing loans to 5,192 degree and 1,125 diploma students who are on the Government-funded loan scheme both continuing students and new beneficiaries; and v) The Government takeover of the proposed Bunyoro and Busoga universities for inclusive and equitable access to university education. Banyoro, you can talk and clap because it has been a thorn in my flesh. (Applause) Social protection Madam Speaker, in the year we are concluding, the Government has provided social protection as follows: i. Continued with the provision of the Senior Citizen Grant to 439,069 older persons across the country amounting to a cumulative total of Shs 565.7 billion; ii. Under the Special Enterprise Grant for Older Persons Program (SEGOP), the Government supported 590 group enterprises benefiting 3,636 older persons; iii. Under the Youth Livelihood Program (YLP), a total of 23,083 youth projects have benefited 263,897 youth in areas of agriculture, trade, services and industry. This has created over 1,250,000 indirect jobs; and iv. Through the National Special Grant for Persons with Disabilities, the Government is supporting 6,282 enterprises, benefiting 49,372 persons with disabilities. Madam Speaker, Government will continue to support the welfare of the elderly to keep them healthy and productive in their communities. While the Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE) targets those above 80 years, Special Enterprise Grant for Older Persons (SEGOP) ensures the inclusion of those in the age bracket of 61 to 79 years. That is for us now. Government will also continue to support the youth and women beneficiary groups using recovery funds from the Youth Livelihood Programme and the Uganda Women’s Enterprise Programme. For greater efficiency, management of the two programmes has been unified. Madam Speaker, I have provided additional Shs 355.79 billion for social protection next financial year.

13468 PRESENTATION OF THE BUDGET SPEECH FY 2024/2025 and non-food items across the country. Next financial year, I have provided Shs 18.1 billion plus a contingency fund of Shs 146.26 billion to support disaster response and management, including: i. The operationalisation of the National Disaster Risk Management Plan; ii. Support 50,000 households with food and non-food items across the country; iii. The provision of funds to Uganda Red Cross Society to support disaster victims; and iv. Supporting the resettlement of 1,000 households that were displaced by landslides and floods in the Elgon region, including the districts of Bududa, Manafwa, Bulambuli, Namisindwa, and Sironko. Government strategy for the financial year 2024/2025 and the medium-term Madam Speaker, in line with H.E, the President’s guidance, my ministry in collaboration with the National Planning Authority has developed a strategy for growing Uganda’s economy ten- fold. The target is to expand the size of the economy from about $50 billion, last year, to $500 billion, by 2040. The Government has identified four anchor sectors to drive this growth. These are: i. Agro-industrialisation; ii. Tourism development; iii. Mineral development including oil and gas; and iv. Science, technology, and innovation, including ICT. Madam Speaker, these are the ATMs that are going to mint money for Uganda’s next financial year and in the medium term. The detailed enabling policies, interventions, and actions will be contained in the coming 4 th National Development Plan. Madam Speaker, to achieve this ambitious goal in the next 15 years, we must deliberately and pragmatically do the following: i. Double the size of GDP every five years for the remaining three national development plans; ii. Raise per capita GDP six-fold from the current $1,146, to about $7,000 in Financial Year 2039/2040; iii. Double the level of savings in the economy from 20 per cent of GDP to 40 per cent in 2040; iv. Raise the share of exports in GDP from 12 percent, in 2022, to 50 per cent and the share of manufactured products in merchandise exports from 13 per cent to 50 per cent and the medium high tech products from 21 per cent to 50 per cent over the same period; v. Increase the annual FDI inflows from $2.9 billion in 2022 to $50 billion by 2040; and vi. Accumulate the stock and the quality of human capital (skilled workers); physical capital (energy, railway, roads, air travel, and internet infrastructure); and natural capital (forests, swamps, rivers, and lakes). Madam Speaker, the success factors of this strategy are: i. Enhancing the capacity for effective national defence and security to avert any internal or external security risks; ii. Maintaining constitutional order, an effective and efficient Judiciary, and a people-centered Legislature; iii. Economic stability in line with commitments contained in the Charter for Fiscal Responsibility; iv. A reformed Government-wide coordination of rationalised Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Local Governments; v. Effective and accountable public institutions prepared to fight corruption and impunity;

13255 THE E LEVENTH P A RLIAMENT OF UGANDA MONDAY , 6 MAY 2024 Dokolo, Nakapiripirit, Nabilatuk, Bukedea, Bulambuli, whereas landslides were reported in Kasese, Kisoro, Bulambuli, Sironko, Bududa, Bunyangabu districts. Some claimed lives; we lost seven people. Recently, Uganda National Meteorological Authority released a 10-day rainfall forecast from 1 st to 10 th of May 2024, which indicates a continuation of wet conditions over most parts of the country. The heavy to very heavy rainfall events were expected over southwestern in some of the areas in Kigezi and greater Bushenyi districts. In the northeastern, in districts of Karamoja and Teso subregions and neighbouring Acholi subregions. Other areas expected to receive enhanced rainfall are in mid-western subregions in the districts of Masindi, Kiryandongo, Kagadi, Kabarole and Elgon Highlands. The 10-day rainfall forecast by Uganda Meteorological Authority indicates that very heavy rainfall events are expected to cause potential hazards, such as flash floods, debris flows, landslides, in addition, water logging, contamination of water sources due to increased surface rain off into such sources. Disruption of traffic flow along transportation routes as some bridges may be washed away or collapse, an example of the bridges you have already mentioned earlier. Moreover, these heavy rainfalls are expected to damage critical infrastructure- like schools-

13137 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA TUESDAY, 30 APRIL 2024 doing anything. If we are not doing anything, close Parliament. Honourable members, various parts of East Africa are witnessing devastating floods during the ongoing heavy rains. For example, in Kenya, the rains have not only destroyed diverse property and infrastructure it has also claimed lives. We condole with our brothers and sisters in the region. In Uganda, some parts of eastern Uganda like the Elgon, Teso Subregion, are currently suffering with floods and disruption of livelihood. Considering the location of Lake Victoria, which receives a comparatively higher average annual rainfall, there is need for us to prepare for any forthcoming disaster and ensure that our people do not suffer the same. As I wish you a good deliberation, this afternoon, I am repeating, where you have issues with the legislature, come and address it in the House, not from where we are not. On the issues of RAPEX, we have said, do a proper analysis that is good for this country and when your Bills are being handled, not only yours, you should be in the House. I do not know whether some of you are just appointed to come only to see and go and bad mouth. These members of Parliament are human beings, they are doing a lot of work and you must thank them for doing all that. ( Applause ) Having those corridor talks that Parliament is useless, we are not and we shall not be. We will continue doing work for this country if you feel hurt that the RAPEX Bills that were rejected were done unfairly, bring them back and the House looks at them. If it means reconsidering them, it will be done. Honourable members, I think that is enough for people who have the ears to hear. (Members rose_) I have said that is enough. Please, first, sit. (Laughter) Let it be blamed on what the Speaker has said. I said it – on disaster? Hon. Ecweru?

As I conclude, Madam Speaker, I will seek your indulgence to lay on the Table the reports that have already been compiled by the chief administrative officers of Bududa, Elgon and that of Bukedea. The ones of Elgon are not yet here, but I know my colleagues –

13139 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA TUESDAY, 30 APRIL 2024 some parts of Kolir. Data collection is still ongoing to establish more details. Meanwhile, I write to your office to submit the attached report requesting for any appropriate intervention and relief aid…” In fact, the request is similar to the ones of Bududa and Elgon. I beg to lay.

13101 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA WEDNESDAY, 2 4 APRIL 2 024 (d) 1705- Rehabilitation and upgrading of urban roads. Status of the project 4.2.1 Status of Project 1558 - Rural Bridges Infrastructure Project Madam Speaker, this project focuses on improving connectivity in rural areas by constructing bridges and improving swamp crossings. The project also focuses on constructing cable-stayed footbridges and metallic ladders in mountainous areas. The project was formulated in 2019/2020 for a period of five years with the following targets: (i) 15 bridges to be constructed; (ii) 17.5 kilometres of swamp crossings to be constructed; (iii) 30 alternative bridge mechanisms constructed, which would include arc bridges, footbridges and metallic ladders; and (iv) 25 new bridges designed. The above outputs were estimated to cost Shs 300 billion over a period of five years. To- date, just a total of Shs 99.6 billion has been received, and out of that, this is what has been achieved: a. Seven bridges have been constructed, two bridges are under construction, and two other bridges have been procured; b. One swamp crossing of one kilometre has been constructed, eight swamp crossings are under construction, and one swamp crossing is designed for construction; c. 18 cable bridges and footbridges have been constructed, and one cable bridge is under construction; and d. Two metallic ladders constructed in the Elgon areas, and another metallic ladder is under construction. The details of these bridges and swamp crossings, cable footbridges, and metallic ladders are contained in Annex 6 of the document. 4.2.2 Project 1564 - Community Roads Improvement Project This project was developed to rehabilitate community roads across the country. The goal was to improve the standard of living of the rural community by improving their connectivity, accessibility to markets, and social and administrative services. Improved access inevitably leads to better farm-gate prices and increased production, reduced travel time, and transport costs, and improved access to social and administrative services. This project is also in line with the PDM as pillar two. The project was formulated in the Financial Year 2020/2021 for a period of five years with a target of rehabilitating 7,905 kilometres of community access roads. The estimated cost was Shs 391.6 billion. To date, only Shs 127.3 billion has been released and 1,392 kilometres of community access roads have been rehabilitated, 225 kilometres are still under construction. The details of the roads rehabilitated and those under construction, under this project, are in Annex 7. 4.2.3 Project 1703 - Rehabilitation of District Roads Madam Speaker, this project was formulated to support district local governments to reduce the rehabilitation backlog of district roads. Through this project, my ministry introduced low-cost sealing technology, which involves tarmacking of roads that carry traffic of less than 300 vehicles per day using locally available materials and non-conventional bituminous surfaces. Madam Speaker, through this project we introduced a technology called Probase, which is appropriate and applicable in tarmacking of medium volume traffic roads, for example, roads that carry up to about 3,000 vehicles per day. We have already tested this project and tested this technology on the Kayunga- Nabuganyi road and it is working well. We have also used it in Nansana and we are also going to use it to do the road from Kakiri to

13104 MINISTERIAL STATEMENT The total requirement for the requisite road equipment units for this purpose is $70 million, which we hope can be funded through debt financing using the same scheme under which we got the 1,115 units in 2017. My ministry is in the process of procuring road construction equipment for the new districts, as I have said, but we need another Shs 29 billion for the vibro rollers, tippers and water bowsers. These were not included in the tranche which you gave us last time. We shall continue engaging through both the Budget Committee, Committee on Physical Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development to avail Shs 29 billion so that we can complete the purchase. Zonal equipment centres Madam Speaker, the zonal equipment centres are currently housed within the premises of the regional mechanical workshops. The ministry had planned to create nine zonal centres in Moroto, Mbale, Jinja, Gulu, Arua, Luweero, Hoima, Mbarara, and Kabale at an estimated cost of Shs 45 billion. We shall continue engaging the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development on this endeavour. The zonal equipment centres operate shared road equipment such as bulldozers, excavators, backhoe loaders, self-loaders and low beds. While the shared equipment is insufficient to cater for the requirements of the entire country, its availability has been greatly reduced due to insufficient maintenance funding. That is a requirement for additional money. Mechanical Engineering Training and Advisory Centre (METRAC) Madam Speaker, since 2017 when the ministry acquired the new equipment, the ministry has implemented several regional training sessions for district operators. While this training format was not sustainable, it was the only option given the circumstances. In 20l8, the Government of Japan, through the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), gave a grant of $2.3 million to the Government of Uganda for the construction of the Mechanical Engineering Training and Advisory Centre in Luwero. Phase I of the project, comprising a gatehouse, classroom block, maintenance block, and administration block, have been completed and the project has been handed over. It is just a few kilometres from Luweero town. Here, we shall train and retrain operators so that we have - because the machine performance will be as good as the man behind the operation. If we have a bad operator – and, in most cases, what we have seen is that people have drivers, not operators. In this centre, we are going to train operators and we are working with the Ministry of Education and Sports so that they can also be tested under the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) and given certificates of equivalent so that they can be able to be employed outside. Madam Speaker, phase 2 of METRAC requires Shs 9.8 billion, which began this financial year. So far, the Government has availed Shs 1 billion for the construction of a few of the amenities. Mt Elgon Labour-Based Training Centre Madam Speaker, Mt Elgon Labour-based Training Centre (MELTC) is a national training centre under the Ministry of Works and Transport for applying labour-based technology (LBT) in the rehabilitation and maintenance of national, district, urban and community access roads. The training centre is located 20km from Mbale City, along the Mbale-Budadiri Road and adjacent to Uganda Technical College, Elgon. Madam Speaker, MELTC provides training and capacity building in developing, maintaining, and utilising critical road infrastructure assets in the District, Urban, and Community Access Road (DUCAR). Its contribution to the DUCAR network includes:

13105 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA WEDNESDAY, 2 4 APRIL 2 024 (i) Training and capacity building of public and private sector personnel in the roads subsector; (ii) Dissemination of new innovative highways and bridges construction technologies and best practices in construction to improve on the value for money, consistency of applied standards and sustainability of the infrastructure assets; (iii) Integration of cross-cutting issues (gender, environment, and social issues); and (iv) Social-economic inclusion is achieved through public infrastructure projects on roads and bridges and employing local vulnerable communities using labour. The centre has trained more than 426 public and private sector personnel in the fundamentals of road and bridge technologies and completed more than five bridges and 15km of model road training projects since 2022. We are now doing a test of cobblestones in the areas of the Elgon to see how it will perform. The stones are shaped very well and then laid, and they have proved to be very resilient. For Members who have been to Rome, you have seen them on those Roman roads. This was a technology used way back in those years, but the roads are still firm. Madam Speaker, since the Financial Year 2020/202l, the centre has received Shs l7.2 billion under the recurrent budget and Shs 10.2 billion under the development of critical infrastructure model projects. For the centre to conduct its mandate effectively, it needs a budget of about Shs 15 billion annually. Challenges The key challenges experienced with the management of the DUCAR network include the following: (i) Limited budget for rehabilitation of the DUCAR network. My ministry will need an additional Shs 406 billion per year, up from the current allocation of Shs 167 billion per year, to effectively rehabilitate the DUCAR Road networks. This is even made worse, now, with the kind of rains we get and their effects on the DUCAR networks; (ii) Lack of adequate equipment to enable effective execution of the Force Account works. More equipment is needed for the zonal centres, Force Account Units, municipal councils, new cities, and the new districts – we have already sorted those; (iii) Inadequate funding for road maintenance activities. Only about 40 per cent of the maintenance needs are met by the Uganda Road Fund on the entire road network; (iv) Inadequate budget for road equipment maintenance using the regional mechanical workshops. Currently, the annual budget is Shs 11.6 billion instead of Shs 45 billion; (v) Low capacity of local contractors, who are required to implement DUCAR development interventions; (vi) Absence of Contingencies Funds to address emergencies such as washed-away roads and bridges during the rainy season, procurement of standby culverts, gabions and Bailey bridges that are required whenever roads, bridges, and swamp crossings are damaged by heavy floods. Madam Speaker, you remember the last rains we had and the damage to our roads. Due to the lack of a contingency fund, we have not addressed those damages. We are now getting another spate of heavy rains, again. I do not know where we are going to end with this one by the time it calms down. Madam Speaker, I would like to assure you that: 1. Despite the challenges faced in the implementation of the planned NDP III projects, the Government of Uganda is committed to completing the ongoing projects and investing in new projects in

Madam Speaker, I stand here to say that NFA must not be mainstreamed. (Applause) They have not told us the reasons, at any level, why they have failed. Maybe the same reasons would have touched on UWA or NEMA. I would like to say here with authority. With due respect, I have worked around the country. NFA has got infrastructure, it has institutions and is locally and internationally connected. The problem affecting the whole world right now is climate change and the question all over the world is on how to remove carbon from the environment. There is no way it can work through institutions that the Government has so far suffocated. For example, there is no reason whatsoever that the Government can come up with, on why NFA should be mainstreamed. Indeed, the East African region has been coming to Uganda to benchmark on how to create their forest authorities. Wherever we go, we are being quoted as the best in the region. So, I find it difficult – even as I talk right now, the neighbouring countries come around, even to the Mt Elgon area so –(Interruption)

We are dealing with a carbon bank. When you come to Elgon Zone, Masindi Zone – we talk of Carbon Bank. Carbon Bank is one of the projects under NFA. I think it will not be rational to mainstream the National Forestry Authority. It should stay.

You see the problem is that Hon. Gorreth did not do Geography of Uganda because when you talk about the lowlands, where floods collect – floods come all the way from Bududa, Elgon, and Karamoja and end up in Bukedea. Hon. Eric, one minute. Then, Hon. Kasolo and the Member for Aruu.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thank the committee for the good and comprehensive report and I thank the Members for their support. It is true that without good roads in this country, transport becomes a problem and the cost of goods goes high. It is our mandate to ensure that these roads are good. We are happy that, through Parliament, next financial year things are to move on very well. Madam Speaker, I would like to inform you that, leaving alone the debts we have with the contractors of UNRA, our roads and bridges department have carried over Shs 100 billion – they have carried over this debt to next the financial year. There are also some roads that we signed to contractors, but they have failed to report to work because there is no money. The contractors have refused to report to work yet the MPs keep on demanding. We had an incident last year but one, where the Elgon roads were washed away but up to now, those problems have never been rectified. The area Members of Parliament keep on promising residents, and those are residents of our country. I thank the committee for the provision of the balance to procure the complete road equipment unit. As of now, we have the wheel loaders and the graders for the 16 new districts. On the 10 th of May, we will give them out because we have no option, but it was looking awkward for a whole district to have those two

Thank you so much, Madam Speaker, for the guidance. I had requested to read the details, but I have been guided so people should be able to read. Fast-tracking the realisation of Government, that is, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Apart from the relocation, we have additionally recommended Shs 1.5 billion so that we have Shs 2.5 billion to fast-track our performance of SDGs. Resettlement of victims of disasters Madam Speaker, we recommend that this be rolled out instead of concentrating only in the Elgon Subregion. This is because there are many parts of this country where floods reoccur and people get affected. Budget allocation Office of the President Recurrent budget is Shs 257,128,000,000, Development expenditure we are recommending for Shs 22,260,000,000. State House, Recurrent Expenditure, we are recommending for Shs 403,078,000,000; Development Expenditure, we are recommending Shs 21,772,000,000. Office of the Prime Minister Recurrent Expenditure, we are recommending for Shs 110, 229,000,000 Development expenditure, we are recommending for Shs 3,776,000,000. The Ministry of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs Under Recurrent Budget, we are recommending Shs 1,816,000,000 Development expenditure, we are recommending for Shs 38,025,000,000. Uganda AIDS Commission Recurrent Expenditure, we are recommending Shs 16,100,000,000 -

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I join colleagues in thanking the committee for the report. I picked interest in the rolling out of the resettlement of people who are affected by the landslides and mudslides. It is a good suggestion by the committee that money must be provided such that people are resettled in a better place. The issue that attracted my attention is that most of the Elgon region going to the Sebei Subregion - Some of our people are staying in very risky areas. I would possibly give an opinion that the Government can go out and begin mapping those risky areas so that our people can be settled in the future, but those risky areas can be taken over by the Government so that they can plant trees. Otherwise, our people should not wait for the disaster to come. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the committee for the report on climate change. However, even what they have allocated is not, in my own assessment, enough. This is because mother planet Earth is in a serious fever. With the advent of reconditioned cars – and Africa, Uganda inclusive, has become a dumping ground for all manner of gadgets that emit greenhouse gases – we need to have massive planting of trees. So, the plan should be even bigger than what I see. Mr Speaker, Hon. Okiror comes from the plains of Teso Subregion, and he has expressed the concern of water stress, which is equally in mountainous areas such as Bududa. We can take the case of people who are on mountainous terrains, where you cannot drill boreholes and they have to walk for hours downhill, to collect water. The focus has shifted to gravity flow schemes. That is why in Bukedea, they are a beneficiary of a gravity flow scheme, courtesy of Mount Elgon. So, if serious focus would shift to gravity flow water, these plains would not be crying of water stress. I share your concern –

(8) Hosted 20 Turkish Travel Agents to a tourism experience of the South- Western region of Uganda in partnership with Embassy of Uganda in Turkey. (9) Produced tourism content in partnership with China-based Ugandan influencer, Rose Mary Adikini, and South African content creator and influencer, Mihlali Ndamase, for increased destination visibility. (10) Jointly promoted domestic events such as Kagulu Hilt climb, Karamoja Festival, Empango celebrations, the Theluji festival in the Rwenzori region, the Rolex Festival, Kyakaigo Motor Rally in Fort Portal, Ghetto Kids Tour of Western Uganda, Elgon Marathon, Pian Upe activation with Miss Uganda, Miss Tourism and Miss Deaf beauty pageants in partnership with tourism stakeholders (ll) Produced and disseminated 2,000 promotional giveaways for brand visibility (12) lO2rSOZ tourists visiting Museums and cultural heritage sites (13) Guided conservation education tours conducted for 4991572 visitors at UWEC against a target of 490,000. (14) 234,249 tourists were hosted in PAs against a target of 335,906. f,tr1 (. 6nn lw' \rP- ,& 11 ry llir.J* HK

addition, there is need to formulate regulations, guidelines and plans to implement the National Climate Change Act, 2O2I. The Committee observes that climate models and projections show that climate change will continue to affect the livelihoods of communities leading to loss of life and forced migration among others in the hotspot areas of Elgon sub region, the cattle corridor of Uganda and the hilly and mountainous areas of South-western Uganda. The Committee was informed that mainstreaming climate change and implementation of the Climate Change Act, 2021 has a funding shortfall of Shs 10.9 billion. Recommendation: . Government should provide UGX.lO.9 billion to the Climate Change Department under the Ministry to enable implementation of the Climate Change Act. (bf Carbon trading mechanisms Uganda is one of the carbon market frontrunners in Africa, with a total of over 33 million carbon credits issued in Uganda from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) standards. Accordingly, carbon trading has the potential to generate revenue for sustainable development initiatives while encouraging businesses to use greener practices and technologies. At the moment, however, finding buyers of carbon credits is hard since there is no clear policy on carbon markets. Yet, the trade in carbon credits between companies can promote emission reductions and investments in carbon offset projects. Carbon trading initiatives have the potential to promote sustainable land management practices and environmental conservation in Uganda. By promoting programmes such as afforestation, reforestation, and sustainable agriculture, carbon trading can aid in the conservation of biodiversity, the protection of tem , and the tation and land tion. In 30 ( .l t, t r.--Ll \ of defo

Mr Speaker, I know – and we know – as the Ministry of Education and Sports that there was a pledge of a university for the Elgon Subregion. I want to inform the honourable colleague that, as a ministry, we [Mr Musasizi] PRIME MINISTER’S TIME

Mr Speaker, I present a statement on business for the succeeding week, under Rule 28 of our Rules of Procedure. 1. The Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities will present a statement on the boundary management of Mt Elgon National Park and Uganda Wildlife Authority to protect the boundary; 2. The Minister of Water and Environment will present a statement on the status of water coverage for both rural and urban areas across the country; (Applause) 3. The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives will present a detailed statement on Uganda creating its own tea auction platform, instead of solely depending on the Mombasa Tea Auction Hub; 4. Government will present action-taken reports on the following: (a) The Auditor-General’s Special Audit report on the Namanve thermal power plant for the financial year that ended 30 June 2021; (b) The erratic electricity supply in West Nile; (Applause) (c) The Bujagali tax waiver; (d) The emergency total shutdown of Isimba Hydro Plant; (e) The Ministerial Policy Statement and budget estimates for the environment and natural resources sector for the Financial Year 2023/2024. 5. The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development will present a comprehensive statement on the nationwide electricity connection projects. I beg to submit. (Applause)

Thank you, Mr Speaker. We had a devastating hailstorm on the slopes of Mount Elgon, in Budadiri East, in the subcounties of Bumulisha and Bukiise. Bumulisha Primary School was affected, whereby the classroom block was washed away together with some semi-permanent structures where some teachers were residing. In Bukiise, very many parishes were affected and the crops were destroyed. Mr Speaker, my prayers, especially for the primary school that has just resumed, is for the ministry to look at the most intermediate solution for the primary three block, which was affected. If you can provide for example, temporal tarpaulins or tents, or iron sheets. I believe as the district plans for the reconstruction of the classroom block, the Ministry of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees could come in and mitigate that effect.

Thank you, honourable minister. It is referred to the Committee on Presidential Affairs. V: ON THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF PARLIAMENT IN THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022/2023 a) On the state of health care service delivery in selected health facilities in Busoga, Elgon, Bukedi, Ankole and Buganda sub- regions; b) On the performance of Euros 10 million from the Government of the Republic of Italy to finance the Karamoja Infrastructure Development Phase II (KIDP II) under the Health Sector Development Plan; c) On the assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on HIV/AIDS services delivery in the country; d) On the report of the Auditor-General for the Financial Year 2020/2021; e) On the magnitude of road traffic injuries reporting to public hospitals in Uganda and the cost of treatment; f) On the petition on salary enhancement discrepancies for nurses and medical interns; g) On the field visits to West Nile and Northern Uganda to assess the scope of works executed by BMK Uganda Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health Services Improvement Project (URMCHIP) – LOT 6; h) On the Ministerial Policy Statement and the Budget Estimates for the Health Sector for Financial Year 2023/2024; i) On the field visit to Kasese to assess the status of Kilembe Mines Hospital; j) On Resolution to urge Government to prioritise investment in Health Centres IV; k) On Resolution to urge Government to prioritise interventions into the nodding disease syndrome in Northern Uganda; and l) On resolution to urge Government to prioritise and improve mental health and psychiatric care in Uganda. VI: THE ACTION-TAKEN REPORTS OF THE HEALTH SUB-SECTOR, FOLLOWING THE RESOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF PARLIAMENT IN THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022/2023

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to ask the Prime Minister this question: Prime Minister, you have interacted with us several times on this issue of the Mount Elgon National Park and the people of Sebei. Recently, Uganda Wildlife Authority people came to our region. They stormed the communities surrounding the national park and slashed down their crops. After our people had got the Parish Development Model money, they slashed their crops and everything which was found there. I do not know how our people will pay back the PDM money to the SACCOs. My question, therefore, is: Prime Minister, could you kindly give us the proper boundary?

Give us the proper boundary between the communities of Sebei and Mount Elgon National Park. That is the question I have.

Mr Speaker, like I have already told you, the President guided last year that we relocate people from Mount Elgon to safer places because some of those people are in those dangerous enclaves. In fact, we want our people to move down. We have started from other areas. We partnered with one of the NGOs from America, which is paying Shs 7 million, yet the Government is paying Shs 10 million to those people. We shall also provide them with some land – at least two acres. We started from Bududa to Bulambuli, and these other areas. The NGO is called “Give Directly”. I would like to allay the fears of my sister. I am aware that UWA was there and the Benet people were treated badly. We are saying as we move like this, we shall definitely reach that area. Mount Elgon National Park must be protected for the good of those people in that place.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. In 2018, the Department of Surveys and Mapping in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development released a report on the reopening of boundaries of the Mount Elgon National Park. The findings have been discussed with several stakeholders, including the Office of the Prime Minister, local government, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and a way forward was agreed upon to maintain the status quo regarding the 1993 boundary. That is the time when the national park was gazetted. A few days ago, communities in Bubyangu, Wanale, Budwale, Bududa and parts of the Bugisu Subregion faced a number of challenges, more so when a team came and surveyed using GPS. Shortly after this, people started cutting the trees that were on the already established boundaries. This has created a lot of animosity and restlessness in the community. Mr Speaker, my prayers are that: 1. The Uganda Wildlife Authority respects and adheres to the arrangement agreed upon concerning the boundaries of Mount Elgon National Park, and protects the trees that demarcate the boundaries; 2. The local leaders should be informed whenever there is an activity along the park boundary to avoid suspicion; and 3. Those involved in destroying the boundary that demarcates this national park be brought to book. Thank you.

Thank you. Honourable colleague, you are referring to a certain middle point agreement that was reached on maintaining A, B, C, and D, but Parliament is not privy to this agreement. Because of that, the minister needs to bring a statement on this issue. I know it is a highly explosive issue that touches the whole of Elgon, Bugisu and Sebei. Hon. John Faith Magolo hosted me on top of Mountain Wanale and nearly forced me to make commitments which I could not fulfil. As they were asking me questions about that issue and I was trying to meander around, I heard some people asking whether I had already done Imbalu and they were coming closer to me. (Laughter) I immediately said I would sort out the issues and I took off. Let the minister, in two weeks, bring a statement on this issue, so that we take up this COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR [The Deputy Speaker]

Madam Speaker, the following have been designated to the Committee of HIV/AIDS and Related Matters: 1. Hon Christopher Komakech - Aruu County; 2. Hon. Nathan Twesigye - Kashari South County; 3. Dr Patrick Isingoma - Mwesigwa, Hoima East Division; 4. Hon. Isaac Katenya - Bulambuli County; 5. Hon. Suzan Abeja - Woman Representative, Otuke; 6. Hon. Joan Namutaawe - Woman Representative, Masaka; and 7. Hon. Margaret Lamwaka - Chua East County.

Madam Speaker, I beg to designate the following Members to the standing Committee on Public Accounts (Central Government): 1. Hon. Isaac Modoi - Lutseshe County; 2. Hon. Michael Mawanda - Igara County East; 3. Hon. John Twesigye - Bunyaruguru County; 4. Hon. Xavier Kyooma - Ibanda County North; 5. Hon. Fredrick Angura - Tororo South County; 6. Hon. Florence Nebanda - Butaleja; 7. Hon. Pamela Kamugo - Budaka; 8. Hon. Joseph Ruyonga - Hoima West Division; 9. Hon. Isaac Ssejjoba - Bukoto County Mid-West; 10. Hon. Jesca Ababiku - Adjumani; 11. Hon. Wamakuyu Mudimi - Elgon County; 12. Hon. Sharon Balmoyi - Gulu; 13. Hon. Jane Awich - Kaberamaido; 14. Hon. Catherine Lamwaka - Omoro;

Madam Speaker, I beg to designate the following Members to the Committee on Public Accounts (Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises): 1. Hon. Jane Bainomugisha - Ibanda; 2. Hon. Richard Gafabusa - Bwamba County; 3. Hon. Charles Bakabulindi - Workers’ Representative; 4. Hon. Josyline Kamateneti - Ntungamo; 5. Hon. Gerald Nangoli - Elgon North County; 6. Hon. Martin Muzaale - Buzaaya County; 7. Hon. Linda Irene - Fort Portal City; 8. Hon. Dononzio Kahonda - Ruhinda South County; 9. Hon. Ferigo Kambale - Kasese Municipality; 10. Hon. Pascal Mbabazi - Buwekula County; 11. Hon. Mariam Naigaga - Namutumba District; 12. Hon. Alex Brandon - Kagoma North County; 13. Hon. Alfred Edakasi - Kaberamaido County; 14. Hon. Benard Sekyanzi - Budyebo County; 15. Hon. Esther Afoyochan - Zombo District; 16. Hon. David Karubanga - Kigorobya County; 17. Hon. Dan Atwijukire - Kazo County; 18. Hon. Mutono Lodoi - Butebo County; 19. Hon. Thembo Mujungu - Busongora County South; 20. Hon. Robert Kasolo - Iki-Iki County; 21. Hon. Peter Okeyoh - Bukooli Island County; and 22. Hon. Herbert Tayebwa -Kashongi County. Madam Speaker, I beg to designate.

Madam Speaker, the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development highlighted some key issues of this request. I will guide Members to specific pages of more interest; I hope the report is uploaded. Page 5 has the performance of debt finance projects under the agricultural sector - they are quite many. On page 9, we have in terms of the country context according to the national household survey, a sizable portion of Uganda’s population remains vulnerable to poverty and significant welfare setbacks in the wake of a shock. About 44 per cent are considered vulnerable and susceptible to falling into poverty because of climate and other shocks. On page 12 of the report on the context and challenges, the project intends to address, they are mentioned there and some of them were mentioned by the minister. I am doing so because I was advised to move as fast as possible to observations and recommendations. Madam Speaker, on page 13, climate induced drought and flood in Uganda is shrinking Uganda’s lakes and fish population due to increasing temperatures and sedimentation/ siltation from erosion caused by changes in land-use and land cover; those are some of the issues. On page 15, it is about alignment of the project to a National Planning Framework. This is part of NDP III. Therefore, Members, you will find it there. And then on page 17, we have the value chain selection criteria; it is highlighted there: (i) Potential to earn income for farmers and create employment ii. Potential to support food security and nutrition (ii) Environmentally-adaptable to the region (iii) Potential for scalability (iv) Marketability-availability of market off- takers, aggregators, and processors (v) Promoted by at least two-thirds of the districts in the subregion. Madam Speaker, on the same page, we have a list of beneficiaries; Busoga, Bukedi, Elgon, Teso, Karamoja, Lango, Acholi, West Nile, Ankole, Kigezi, Rwenzori, Bunyoro, and then

11278 SUPPLEMENTARY SCHEDULE NO.1 FOR FY 2023/2024 lastly, Buganda. The number of districts falling in those respective subregions is mentioned therein. On page 31, we have the project coverage selection criteria and beneficiaries. However, allow me note this; the project has targeted agro-ecological zones that have increasing and high levels of poverty and high levels of land and natural resources degradation as well as low-value production. Agro-ecological Zones included; (a) North-eastern dry lands (Karamoja); (b) North-eastern savannah grasslands (East Acholi and Northern Lango); (c) Kyoga plains (south-eastern Lango, Teso, Bukedi, and northern Busoga); (d) Western highlands, southern highlands, southern dry lands, and Lake Albert Crescent; (e) Eastern (Elgon) highlands (Bugisu and Sebei), and (f) Central region. On page 32, we have the project beneficiaries. Allow me to highlight just this key area. The project is expected to directly benefit about 760,000 households and indirectly benefit approximately 1.9 million households. On page 34, budget implications; the project is included in the Financial Year 2023/2024 approved Budget estimates for the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and it is under Project Code 1786 under Vote 010. In terms of implementation (page 35) the national project steering committee will be co-chaired by the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF). Key members of the national committee will include other Government ministries like the Office of the Prime Minister; Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives; Ministry of Local Government; Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development; National Environment Management Authority (NEMA); National Forestry Authority (NFA); Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development; Ministry of Water and Environment and senior leadership from line agencies like the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NARO), National Animal Genetic Resource Centre (NAGREC) and others. Page 36, the loan current debt situation; the minister highlighted that but let me add this. This loan will increase the country’s total nominal public debt stock that preliminarily stood at Shs 86.7 trillion as at end of June 2023, compared to 48.4 per cent as at June 2022. Observations and Recommendations Legal covenants of the credit financing agreement The committee observed that the draft loan financing agreement highlights the following conditions: In order for the loan disbursements under the project component of promoting adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural Technologies and Practices to be triggered upon approval by Parliament; 1. No withdrawal shall be made for competitive research, grants for community-level investments, to finance micro-projects and district level investments, to finance strategic larger sub-projects, that benefit several subcounties and communities, unless and until the Government has prepared and adopted the grant’s manual in form and substance acceptable to the World Bank. 2. No withdrawal shall be made for matching grants for clean energy equipment, machinery and infrastructure for harvesting, post-harvest management and value- addition, improvement of quality and shelf- life of produce, and reduction of the overall contribution of agro-value chains to sectoral greenhouse gas emissions. Production input grants, nutrition grants under the project component of market development and [Mr Migadde] RESOLUTION TO BORROW

11308 SUPPLEMENTARY SCHEDULE NO.1 FOR FY 2023/2024 3.10. Vote 016: Ministry of Works and Transport The committee recommends approval of Shs 40.328 billion to the Ministry of Works and Transport as subvention wage and non- wage to cater for the National Review Board, MV Kalangala and Mt Elgon Labour Based Training Centre (MELTC). 3.11. Vote 017: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development This one is of course a correction of errors that could have arisen during budgeting and new opportunities arising - a total of Shs 118 billion to cater for; i. Shs 27 billion which was to cater for part payment of deemed energy obligations under Lira-Agago transmission line for the Achwa-Agago dam. We are getting to the last part of clearing deemed energy because now it is connected. Therefore, soon there is no deemed energy. They are only to pay the last residue, ii. Shs 50 billion was to bridge the demand gap through the accelerated rural electrification program. (Applause) That one which Hon. Kivumbi one time was about to strangle himself. Therefore, we are putting back the money which was erroneously - this is Shs 50 billion, there is another Shs 50 billion in the other part, so it is even more. iii. Shs 10 billion was to cater for the Mineral Regulation Infrastructure Project - this is now for minerals; we are now to get serious with the regulation of minerals; and iv. Shs 31 billion to cater for shortfalls on contractual obligations for deemed energy under Lira-Agago transmission line for Achwa-Agago dam. 3.12. Vote 018: Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development The committee recommends approval of Shs 32 billion, of which; a. Shs 30 billion would cater for wage and non-wage shortfalls for food for remand homes and special grants for persons with disabilities; and b. Shs 2 billion for the rehabilitation of the National Mosque at Old Kampala - the ayes have it. (Laughter). 3.1. Vote 019 –

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise on rules 31 and 32. Wouldn’t it be procedurally right for the title of the report to capture the two basins in Elgon-Kadam Basin and Moroto-Kadam Basins? That would be the appropriate title for this. This is both a political question and a pride of the communities.

Hon. Chemaswet, the titles of these areas are determined by the geographical coverage of the Ministry of Energy. It is not the local way of saying this is Sebei Region or Elgon. There is a way the Ministry of Energy scientifically makes it. Therefore, that is okay. Yes, honourable minister?

Madam Speaker, I agree with you that all the water that comes from the mountains of Elgon, Napak and Moroto slope toward Teso and that is why we have many floods in Katakwi and Bukedea. Honourable colleagues, I just want you to be patient with us. The Prime Minister has just announced here that we are making preparations to get some money from the supplementary to be able to respond. I am going to bring a report here and you will see how many schools our ministry has tried to support at your constituency level, because of you. We are trying our best to see how to support you, Members, amidst - Even this morning, I was in the stores. The Prime Minister sent me to the stores this morning to confirm what we have in terms of iron sheets and relief and what quantity we can take to the people. Madam Speaker, we are going to support all the Members, constituencies and the districts that have been affected by the floods. That is my word.

10957 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA THURSDAY, 16 NOVEMBER 2023 there now exists a presidential skilling centre in Lira that takes care of the Lango Subregion. They have been recruiting young people, especially those in villages, to be skilled. Probably, we may need to interrogate that programme and see whether we can support His Excellency the President further, and we roll it out from one subregion to another. In addition to that, we also obtained a loan under the Ministry of Education and Sports from the World Bank. This loan was meant to establish centres of excellence in the five original Uganda Technical Colleges; Bushenyi, Elgon and Lira, to mention, but a few. Under that project, we annexed a number of technical institutes. When you move to Kaberamaido Technical Institute, you will see the development because it is annexed to UTC Lira - even Kigumba. The Government is doing all it takes both for formal and informal education. For Ugandans who cannot attain formal education, the Government is emphasising more of informal education. As Parliament, it is important that we support the Government policy of establishing a technical institute per county or per constituency because that will enable young people who cannot attain formal education to be recruited and skilled in the respective technical institutes. Madam Speaker, thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The information I would like to add is that the water he is complaining about is from River Manafwa and upstream Mount Elgon, Namisindwa District as well as other districts around Mount Elgon. Madam Speaker, I was grappling with calls this morning. In Lwanda Parish, Bumbo Town Council, just a few metres away from my home, the cracks have widened. This is to sound a call to the Government that there is a looming disaster of a landslide or a mudslide. I appeal to the Prime Minister to put up measures, especially evacuation camps - I know Bugisu - Mount Elgon, in general, is cracked, but what I am talking about is salient. I do not want to come here with obituaries, Madam Speaker. I wish that Government puts in place response mechanisms to save people. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Congratulations upon being a Nnalongo . Last year, on the 31 st of July, the floods from Mount Elgon, Bungokho North and Wanale caused a lot of destruction in Mbale City and across. I thank the Prime Minister for responding by coming to the ground and for all the interventions. Among the interventions, there was a pertinent promise of the provision of Shs 200 billion to construct resilient infrastructure in the face of those climate challenges. At the moment, what was destroyed then has deteriorated further. Now that the Prime Minister is in the House and the solutions are here, I believe the people of Mbale will be happy to get an update on how far the Government has gone to redeem the situation. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

10846 STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT Recommendation 5: The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development should ensure that all ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs) and local governments have specific budgets for gender equality and social inclusion, including women empowerment as per the Public Finance Management Act, 2015. The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development reported that they are in conjunction with the Equal Opportunities Commission, which issues the Gender and Equity Certificate to each qualifying MDA after a thorough analysis of their budget. This was work in progress. The committee recommends a budgetary increase for gender equality and social inclusion of the following categories: children, older persons and persons with disabilities. Recommendation 6: The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development should allocate and release adequate financial resources to clear the pending pension arrears and regularly allocate, and release adequate financing to the public service pension schemes, going forward. Mr Speaker, the Government reported that Shs 38.8 billion has been provided for in the budget for the Financial Year 2023/2024 to cater for verified pension and gratuity arrears. The committee recommends that accounting officers should prioritise the timely payment of pensions. All pension arrears should be cleared. Recommendation 7: The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development should prioritise budgetary allocations to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF) to ensure the sufficient investment in agriculture to help with information gathering and research, thereby contributing to development. The budget for MAAIF has increased from Shs 564.4 billion in the Financial Year 2022/2023 to Shs 1,030.994 billion in the Financial Year 2023/2024. The funds will be geared towards supporting the mechanisation of agriculture, the establishment of irrigation facilities and supporting PDM interventions in local governments, among others, in order to increase agricultural production across the country. The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development also reported that it has supported MAAIF through the Agricultural Cluster Development Project to establish the National Food and Agricultural Statistical System (NFASS), to ensure that agricultural data is reliable, timely, consistent, disaggregated and accessible to facilitate planning and decision making. NFASS has been piloted in five districts of Nebbi, Amuru, Iganga, Kalungu and Ntungamo and is being rolled out to five subregions of Lango, Karamoja, Bukedi, Teso and Elgon. The committee recommends the timely release of funds to enable the ministry and other stakeholders to effectively implement the planned activities as per their work plan. Recommendation 8: The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development should effectively fund remand homes. The Government reported that funds have been allocated in the budget for the Financial Year 2023/2024 to fund the activities of remand homes. Recommendation 9: The Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development should sufficiently fund the Uganda Human Rights Commission so that it can pay competitive wages to its staff and address the challenge of high staff turnover. The Uganda Human Rights Commission has sufficient wage allocation for staff in post – this is what the Government reported. Salary enhancement awaits a comprehensive review of salaries across government entities.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to appreciate the Rt Hon. Prime Minister for being so passionate about issues of the Elgon Region, that is Sebei and Bugisu. However, for some time, you have kept quiet, but there are so many killings going on because of the boundary issue that has - I do not know what to say - maybe it has failed to be resolved - but the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) team is continuously extorting money from our people. Unfortunately, UWA guards are brought in for three months, they have an agreement with our people and after the three months, another lot is brought in. Just like Pharaoh who did not know the Israelites, they start fighting and our people are being killed and their crops cut down. We are wondering: Mama , did you lose the passion that you had for us, the people of Elgon region? Should we get used to deaths and our food being destroyed? Our people have gone silent and sometimes it is better for people to speak out than go silent because you can never know what they are thinking. Rt Hon. Prime Minister, kindly speak to us so that I can take back the information. Thank you.

Mr Speaker, Hon. Nambozo is aware that we had a meeting and a technical aerial survey in that region to ascertain the boundaries between our people and UWA, which was concluded in January/February. Under the Office of the Prime Minister, the President directed me, in the presence of everybody, to make sure that those people who are in the dangerous enclaves of Mount Elgon are relocated. We are ready with the compensation list and we are supposed to start paying these people. Remember the money that I talked about on the Floor of this House; Shs 10 million and another NGO from USA, which has already paid Shs 7 million to relocate 5,700 homesteads, whether they are in the boundary of UWA or outside the boundary, but in the dangerous enclaves. There are people who are hanging about in that part of the country and we are supposed to relocate them to avoid a reoccurrence of people being buried by landslides. Mr Speaker, we were supposed to have started payment of those people last week, but the politics - Because we agreed in this House that once somebody is paid, that person should

{ t t7 Hon. Kambale Ferigo (New ) Kasese Municipality 18 Hon. Ruhunda Alex Fort Portal Central r9 Hon. Sekyanzi Benard Kirya Budyebo County 20 Hon. Wandwasi Robert Bungokho South County b"L I 2I Hon. Hashim Sulaiman Neebi Municipality ,@a} 22 Hon. Maneno Zumura DWR Obongi - 23 Hon. Nangoli Gerald Elgon North County a 24 Hon. Ababiku Jessica DWR Adjuman lY! 25 Hon. Wakabi Pius Bugahya County 26 Hon. Linda lrene DWR Fort Portal \ ) 27 Hon. Kamukama Davis Bunyangabu County 28 Hon. TWalla Fadil Tingey County 29 Hon. Nsibambi Yusuf Mawokota South County t ?2b^t 30 Hon. Ekanya Geofrey Tororo County 31 Hon. Okot Santa DWR Aruu North 32 Hon. Auma Kenny Kwania North 33 Hon. Sebamala Richard Bukoto Central 34 Hon. Okupa Elijah Kasilo County 35 Hon. Mpindi Bumali RvDs Rep ffiru 36 Hon. Nsanja Patrick Ntenjeru County South I A 37 Hon. Acora Nancy DWR Lamwo *=d1 38 Hon. Mugema Peter Iganga Municipality rr\Flry\- 2

Mr Speaker, I rise on a matter of national importance concerning a matter that I have been raising since May 2021, when I came to this Parliament. I have always raised the issue of consistent conflicts within the Mt Elgon National Park, that is in Kween, and in the entire Sebei Subregion. Three months ago, I stood up in this House when Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) officers destroyed the houses of people living along the boundaries of the national park. Mr Speaker, I clearly put it that these people are not trespassers; these are people who were left there by the Government to wait for resettlement. They were people who used to stay deep in the forest, but when the forest was turned into a national park, they were brought from inside the forest to the boundary. Mr Speaker, as we speak now, there are 40 families whose houses were broken down. Their maize and Irish potatoes were cut down and when I raised it in this House, you instructed the Prime Minister to handle that matter. The Third Deputy Prime Minister wrote a letter to the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities instructing them to act on the matter. That letter was copied to the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

By virtue of my office, Mr Speaker, I receive some of these complaints. The cost of doing business is skyrocketing. They have to go through a very long distance, even when the cargo on the trucks is much lighter than the tonnage of these buses. So, your boots must be deployed on the ground to know this. There must be some corruption that has compromised either the Ministry of Works and Transport, the contractor, or both. Rt Hon. Prime Minister, there was this question by Hon. Christine Kaaya about the National Forest Authority, I know you have unequivocally said that the National Forest Authority has embarked on a systematic reopening of boundaries of the forest reserves. However, the challenge is all over. You ought to come up with a comprehensive report on this because there are running battles with those people living along the fringes of Mt. Elgon National Park; it is similar. And by the way, there are illegal titles that are even being issued. In 2023, you will be shocked to see them. So, when I get a question from a Member about wetlands - there is also the selective implementation of the directive by the President, because what is in the urban setting is not what is in the rural setting. The RDCs are harassing people in those rural settings, his included. However, when you go near here in Namugongo, you will find people constructing in wetlands, with the supervision of even those that are in authority. So, when you speak tough, I wonder whether you are preaching water, but drinking waragi , Madam Prime Minister. (Laughter) I am concluding, Mr Speaker -

Madam Speaker, I want to end by also highlighting another serious challenge that is faced by these athletes. This is the issue of resettlement. Mr Joshua Cheptegei, Mr Jacob Kiplimo and Mr Victor Kiplangat are all children of the people who are affected by the prolonged resettlement of the people who stay along the Mt Elgon National Park. Everybody knows this and they are all listening. As we speak now, I am sure they are watching and are not happy because their parents are the ones being chased every day. Their parents are staying on temporary land that they have been told to settle on, but not permanently.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the congratulatory message about the performance of Cheptegei. I would also like to thank the Members who have commented and given us suggestions. I want to speak as an MP from Sebei; we were equally very happy when he made it. This morning, I talked to him and he has again promised that in the next championship, we may also have another medal. (Applause) However, I would like to talk about two things; the medals we are getting now are actually through these people’s sweat. We, as the Government, have not yet done enough. Otherwise, we would be having many more medals. As we speak, Kiplimo who has been performing very well is not doing well; he has a dislocation. He does not have a road that connects to his home, there is no power and no water in his home. Most of these athletes you see are from the upper belt in Sebei. However, the upper belt has no roads at all. I want to convey the requests of these athletes, because we interact with them every day, that they be given a road which will run along the upper belt between Mt Elgon so that they can use it to jog and improve their performance. Finally, on the matter of –

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I agree with your comment that this is basically a budgetary matter. However, allow me to make just three observations to solidify your comment further. During the Financial Year 2022/2023, there was no release to UCDA by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development of any funds with respect to the settlement of arrears for payment of coffee seedling suppliers. Secondly, whereas the Cabinet resolution was that payment of the suppliers that did supply after the Cabinet decision of September 2022 would be made in two instalments starting with the Financial Year 2023/2024, there is no provision whatsoever in the current budget towards that. I just wanted to emphasise that. Finally, the chairperson of the committee rightly put it that during their tour, most especially in Northern Uganda, they found that seedlings had overgrown. I want to give an explanation that at the time when we were distributing the seedlings last year, the season for planting coffee in Northern Uganda and some other regions, particularly the Elgon Subregion had expired. It was not the time for planting coffee in those areas, whereas it was time for planting coffee in central, western and some other subregions. For that matter, it was not possible for us to distribute coffee seedlings in Northern Uganda and in the Elgon Subregion. Instead, we postponed the distribution of coffee seedlings in those areas. This is the cause of the overgrown seedlings in Northern Uganda. During Season A of 2023, we distributed some coffee seedlings, but not all. The result of the distribution of some coffee seedlings in those areas – Northern Uganda – is that there were further arrears created of Shs 3.25 billion. My prayer is that as the Minister of Finance considers the arrears created because of distribution in other regions, the arrears created because of distribution in Northern Uganda amounting to Shs 3.25 billion should also be considered. I beg to move. Thank you.

Rt Hon. Prime Minister, Budadiri East has 18 sub counties and four town councils. All of them are on the steep slopes of Mount Elgon. During the last rainy season, the road network was destroyed. The rains have begun, and the Shs 1 billion allocated to Sironko District is a drop in the sea. What special plans does Government have to fix the infrastructure network including the tourism ladders in Budadiri East to the slope of Mount Elgon?

18 Hon. Ruhunda Alex Fort Portal Central NRM L9 Hon. Seky'anzi Benard Krrya Budyebo Counry NRM <944 '20 Hon. Wandwasr Robert Bungokho South County NRM 2r Hon. Hashim Sulaiman Neebr Municrpalry NRM 22 Hon. Maneno Zumura DWR Obongr NRM 23 Hon. Nangoli Gerald Elgon North Count-v NRM 24 Hon. Ababiku Jessica DWR Adjuman NRM 25 Hon. Wakabi hus Bugahya County NRM 26 Hon. Lrnda Irene DWR Fort Portal NRM -PJ '27 Hon. Kamukama Davis Bunyangabu C<.runty NRM 28 Hon. Twalla Fadil Trngey County NRM 29 Hon. NsrbambL Yusuf Mawokota South County FDC --Ta^- 30 Hon. Ekanya Geofrey Tororo County FDC 3l DWR Aruu North PPP 32 Hon. Okot Santa Hon. Auma Kennv Kwania North UPC 33 Hon Sebamala Rrchard Bukoto Central DP 34 Hon. Okupa Elijah Kasilo Countv IND ac. Hon Mpindi Bumah PwDs Rep IND 36 Hon Nsanla Patnck Ntenjeru Counlv South IND 37 IND DWR Lamwo Iganga Munrcipality IND \ 38 39 Hon. Acora Nancy Hon Mugema Peter Hon Roland Nd1'omug.yenyr Rukrga Counlv IND $fuisn\ -t 2

22 18 Hon. Ruhunda Alcx Fort Portal Central NRM t9 Hon. Se$anzr Benard Krrya Budyebo County NRM sffi,-. 20 Hon. Wandwasr Roberr Bungokho South County NRM 2l Hon. Hashim Sularman Neebi Municipalrty NRM Hon. Maneno Zorrlura DWR Obongi NRM 23 Hon. Nangoh Gerald Elgon North County NRM 24 Hon. Ababrku Jessrca DWR Adj uman NRM 25 Hon. Wakabi Pius Buga hya County NRM -:.\ 26 Hon. Linda lrcne DWR Fort Portal NRM 27 Hon. Kamukama Davis Bunyangabu Count5r NRM 2a Hon. Tw'alla Fadrl Tingey County NRM 29 Hon. Nsrbambr Yusuf Mawokota South County FDC q+ -.,1--tt 30 Hon. Ekanya Geofrey Tororo County FDC 31 Hon. Okot Santa DWR Aruu North PPP 32 Hon. Auma Kenny Kwania North UPC .).) Hon. Scbamala Richard Bukoto Central DP 34 Hon. Okupa Ehlah Kasrlo County IND 35 Hon. Mprndr Bumali RrDs Rcp IND 36 Hon. Nsanja Patrrck NtenJeru County South IND 37 Hon Acora Nancy DWR Lamwo IND 38 Hon Mugema Peter lganga Municipalrty IND 39 Hon. Roland Ndyomuglenyi Rukiga County IND &^^.*r*i

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise to join colleagues in congratulating and thanking His Excellency for the precise and articulate State-of-the-Nation Address that he delivered on 7 June 2023. The President was very focused on the challenges facing our country and clear on the strategies that need to be dealt with so we can have a clearer way of dealing with these challenges. What remains now is implementation. Looking at the PDM which affects the masses we represent, it is a clear strategy for improving household incomes. Mr Speaker, time and again, you have sent us to play our oversight role to establish how PDM is being implemented. From what we observed that is happening on the ground, we need to join the Government in guiding the people that we lead and sensitising them so that they can put to good use this money that the Government has put in a basket as a revolving fund to improve the household incomes in our communities. On the issue of water and environment, especially those who are from the mountains with disasters like landslides, the issue of afforestation should be extremely important. We, from Mt Elgon zone, are ready and willing to work closely with the Government in the [The Deputy Speaker] COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR

Thank you, Mr Speaker. If I had the ability, I would amend the motion because the President talked about floods. You are aware of how the Mt Elgon region has been largely affected by landslides. In his speech, I expected him to talk about the mitigation measures in the policy which are going to handle the issue of landslides in Sironko, Bududa, Manafwa and the neighbouring districts. He does not mention it completely, much as he dwells on the floods, which are a bit obvious. He talked about driving poverty out of Uganda and meandered a bit and went to Emyooga and the rest. I expected him to mention something from the cooperative perspective on how the cooperative bank will drive out poverty. This is a lasting solution for farmers to get money and support their enterprises. Lastly, he talked about the Shs 257 billion in science and technology. If you look at the enterprises supported under science and technology, they are 55, but most of them are on issues - (Member timed out.)

Thank you, Mr Speaker. If I had the ability, I would amend the motion because the President talked about floods. You are aware of how the Mt Elgon region has been largely affected by landslides. In his speech, I expected him to talk about the mitigation measures in the policy which are going to handle the issue of landslides in Sironko, Bududa, Manafwa and the neighbouring districts. He does not mention it completely, much as he dwells on the floods, which are a bit obvious. He talked about driving poverty out of Uganda and meandered a bit and went to Emyooga and the rest. I expected him to mention something from the cooperative perspective on how the cooperative bank will drive out poverty. This is a lasting solution for farmers to get money and support their enterprises. Lastly, he talked about the Shs 257 billion in science and technology. If you look at the enterprises supported under science and technology, they are 55, but most of them are on issues - (Member timed out.)

To the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, the following Members are designated: 1. Hon. Abdu Adidwa of Bukooli South County; 2. Hon. John Musila of Bubulo East County; 3. Hon. Moses Kamuntu of Rubanda County West; 4. Hon. Isaac Katenya of Bulambuli County; 5. Hon. Sylvia Bahireira Tumwekwase of Kamwenge District; 6. Hon. Eric Musana of Buyaga East County; and 7. Hon. Polycarp Ogwari of Agule County.

9120 BUDGET SPEECH, 2023 – at 64 years, up from 53 years just as recently as 2015 – attains more years of schooling and enjoys a higher income per capita than ever before. Health Access to healthcare by Ugandans remains a key priority of this Government. Consequently, 381 health centre IIs have been upgraded to health centre IIIs. Dr Jane, you will confirm that. In addition, 250,000 health centre IIIs have been upgraded to health centres IV, equipped and are now functional, largely supported by the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UGIFT) programme, co-funded by the World Bank. Construction and equipping of 31 new health centre IIIs in sub-counties without any health facility are now 90 per cent complete. The health referral system has also been enhanced by fully functioning 143 Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and five High Dependency Units (HDUs) in national and regional referral hospitals across the country. Next year, the Mulago Super Specialised Hospital and the new state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit at the Uganda Cancer Institute will be fully operationalised. They will provide specialised care to all Ugandans and reduce medical referrals abroad. In addition, all existing health centres IV and health centres III will be facilitated to offer quality healthcare to all Ugandans. In this respect, health worker supervision and management will be strengthened to reduce absenteeism. After the on-going payroll audit, the ban on health worker recruitment will be lifted. Government will, in the next few weeks, resolve the plight of medical interns and doctors designated as senior house officers, in view of their important role in supporting the healthcare system. Please, interns, calm down; we are coming to rescue you. In the meantime, I have provided Shs 22 billion to clear outstanding arrears for medical interns and senior house officers for the Financial Year ending June 2023. Education We have registered significant progress in access to education. Uganda’s literacy rate improved from 70.2 per cent in 2012 to 79 per cent in 2021. Education enrolment in public schools is now at 8.8 million children in primary school, 833,000 pupils in secondary and 174,000 students in tertiary institutions. These children were 8.8 million in primary schools and in secondary they are only 833,000, where did the rest go? To improve delivery of the recently launched curriculum, 3,100 teachers were trained and inspection of learning institutions was enhanced using the e-inspection system. The Teacher Effectiveness and Learners Achievement (TELA) system has helped reduce teacher absenteeism and improved pupil attendance. The Education Management Information System (EMIS) has been revamped to support data management and decision-making in education. To enhance sports development, talent identification, nurturing, and professional development have been emphasised. The Mountains of the Moon University was operationalised during this financial year. Upgrading of facilities was completed at Uganda Technical Colleges in Lira, Elgon, and Bushenyi. Next year, the construction and equipping of two-unit laboratories in 21 secondary schools currently without any, will commence in line with the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Policy. Government will continue with the construction of 115 seed secondary schools under the Uganda Inter-Government Fiscal Transfer Programme (UgIFT) in sub-counties without any.

9094 ADDRESS ON THE STATE OF THE NATION not mine. The other one was mine, but this one now- mbigira dala mu Baibuli - In the book of Genesis 1:9, God commanded the water to separate from the dry land. Imagine, Katonda , in the Book of Genesis says, let water and dry land be separate. “Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place and let the dry land appear. And it was so.” That is what God said. But a Ugandan comes and says God was wrong. What was water, I will turn it into a garden- Eeeh bana Uganda tebatya . God said, this is water and you say no, he made a mistake - we shall get time and talk. All the death from landslides, floods, etcetera, come out of rebelling against God, rebelling against science and rebelling against common sense. Water bodies and their miiga - miiga is a Runyankole word for the edge of the water body, are not for human settlement. They are for water conservation. Priorities: The Government approved, the Agriculture Value Chain Development Strategy which recognises that intervention under the Parish Development Model will prioritise the following; 1. Guiding farmers on enterprise selection; 2. Ensuring adequate quantities and qualities of seed, breeding and stocking material; research and breeding; 3. Ensuring sustainable high yields through control of pests, vectors, and diseases for crops and animals; 4. Facilitating precision agriculture, that is, water harvesting, irrigation infrastructure and machinery; 5. Provision of farm power, that is the land opening, cultivation machinery and assorted post-harvest and small value addition equipment; 6. Ensuring that the materials planted survive through ensuring adequate farmer education and extension services; 7. Ensuring that there is proper post-harvest management to avoid pre and post-harvest losses; 8. Supporting primary processing through the provision of skills and assorted equipment to address specific value chain needs; 9. Supporting medium to large scale model or extensive farmers, because these create effective demand for the small scale and intensive farmers. Tourism Tourism is another area that has got significant potential for the economy. We have the best tourism sites, including our national parks of Kidepo, Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, Elgon, Rwenzori, Kibale Forest, Lake Bunyonyi, and many game reserves across the country. Uganda’s tourism sites rank highly in international media outlets and global tourism agencies. Despite the global lockdown, we received about 500,000 tourists in 2021 and revenue of $530 million. The number of tourists coming here has recovered since the lifting of the COVID-19 lockdowns to 814,000 by December 2022 and earned us $1 billion in the calendar year 2022. To harness the tourism potential further, the Government is undertaking the following interventions in the tourism sector: 1. Ensuring the security of the country and tourism sites 2. Construction of tarmac roads from Kitgum to Kidepo - 116 kilometres. Lake Bunyonyi-Kisoro-Mgahinga - 74 kilometers. Karenga-Kapedo-Kaabong - 70 kilometers. Kisoro-Rubuguri-Muko – 65 kilometres which are soon starting;

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Last week I raised an issue of national importance pertaining to the illegal destruction of houses by the Uganda Wildlife Authority in my constituency. Since then, nothing has been done on the ground. However, since the Attorney-General is here, I would like to bring it out clearly that the people who are still staying along the boundaries of Mt Elgon National Park in Kween District are left to stay there on orders of the Government. I am sure the Attorney-General is aware of the consent judgement of 2005, where the Government consented to the case that was reported by the community against it; complaining of their displacement from their ancestral land. Mr Speaker, this is a very serious matter in my constituency -

Thank you. Attorney-General, issues of areas neighbouring Mt Elgon National Park are issues which we must sit down and give a final verdict on as Government. Hon. John Magolo hosted me and took me up to Mt Wanale and we had a long evening. His people even threatened to do an imbalu on me. (Laughter) But they did not know that I am clever; I went when I was also well protected. So, I saw these people coming dancing kadodi slowly and they could easily kidnap me and do – I said, “Hon. Magolo, you are my brother; you mean you planned this with Hon. Nambeshe.” Anyway, we had a very good evening there. The issue of that border - if you want to follow the survey of 1964, it would mean that even Mbale City is in the park and you would take over the whole of that area. The leaders are saying follow the survey that the Government conducted in 1993. The danger it is causing is that the moment you do not decide, people will continue encroaching. But the leaders in the area had committed that if you follow the survey of 1993, they would ensure that the park is well protected and not allow any more encroachment. However, if you continue with the arguments of the 1960s, people will continue to enter the park and you will have skirmishes and fights. You cannot control it. Attorney-General, help us; I know on such issues you are usually decisive. Just make a decision on the matter so that people know; if you do not want them to rely on the survey of 1993, they will find a way out and the whole of Mbale City is declared a national park.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. As you said, this issue of national parks is not only in Mt Elgon National Park; it is everywhere including Mt Rwenzori – everyone is facing this issue and we are going to address it. I think a communication has been made on Mt Elgon National Park, but more importantly, honourable member, while we talk about the national park, there is also the risk of landslides in that area which also needs to be addressed. Mr Speaker, we are going to go back and communicate the position. If demarcation exists, we should be able to share it and all of us need to respect that. Then we can deal with the resettlement of the people if indeed there is such a challenge. But we can communicate, I share with you and we find a solution to this problem. COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR

Attorney- General, I request you to meet with the Members of Parliament from the affected area for more details. I do not want it to be an exchange between the Attorney-General and the Members. Let the Attorney-General meet with the Members from the areas surrounding Mt Elgon National Park so that you can agree on a way forward on this issue. [Ms Naluyima: “Procedure.”] What is your procedural matter, honourable member?

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Between the 24 th and 28 th of April, we had a very serious problem in my constituency, where Uganda Wildlife Authority carried out an illegal eviction at the boundary of Mount Elgon National Park. They broke down houses, uprooted crops such as Irish potatoes, maize and even started beating people. I have almost 30 families without houses; they sleep in the open, and yet up to now, no one has come to their rescue. I managed to go to the head office in Mbale and talked to Mr Kiiza who heads Mount Elgon National Park and is not aware of what was going on. Madam Speaker, we have been talking about madness but what those people did; they really need to be checked because you can imagine trained officers breaking houses. These houses had been there for the last 30 years.

Madam Speaker, last financial year, according to the Minister of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Hon. Hilary Onek, Shs 54 billion was given to help resettle people in the areas of Mount Elgon. Recently, when he appeared before the Committee on Presidential Affairs, he stated that he did not know what was done with the Shs 54 billion. It would be in our best interest to get to understand more about this Shs 54 billion and how it was used. This is because every time, we keep hearing about the problem affecting the areas of Mount Elgon; Shs 54 billion is not little money that we should just ignore. These are public funds – taxpayers’ money. We need it to be accounted for.

Thank you. Can I hear from the chairperson, Committee on Presidential Affairs? Let us get the information on the Shs 54 billion for Mount Elgon. It is not for Karamoja - first sit down. You will talk on Karamoja.

8495 THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA THURSDAY, 4 MAY 2023 the provisions of Rule 141(2) of the Rules of Procedure. At the right time, I will allow the chairperson to come and formally seek that extension in the House. Additionally, my attention has been drawn to the reports on the heavy rains, mudslides, and floods that have ravaged most of the parts of Kigezi and Rwenzori, claiming over 16 lives and leaving hundreds homeless. This is a common occurrence during this rainy season, during which we experience this kind of disaster. In this regard, I urge people in the Elgon Region to be on alert because this is likely to continue happening. Uganda is a very interesting country; it is either floods or drought. So, we must always be prepared for both floods and drought. We have lost a number of people just within these few days. As people’s representatives, we would like to condole with the families that have lost their people and I ask the Minister of Disaster Preparedness to bring to the House a report on the immediate action they have taken on what is happening, together with the long-term plans. However, this still takes us back to what we have been saying: We need a Disaster Commission set up. This is a constitutional requirement - (Applause) - although nobody has ever bothered to do this. They will say, “We have a disaster committee in the constituency,” yet it would be this Disaster Commission to push the disaster committees at the district level to ensure we prepare in time. But we have paid a deaf ear to that. May we rise for a moment of silence in honour of the people who have lost their lives. (Members rose and observed a moment of silence.)

UEMBERs OF THE COMMITTEE OI{ BT'DGEf, WHO COIAEI'ITED TO THE R.EPORT Onl IHE AUPPLEMEIITARY E"PEIIDITURE ACHEDT'LE T{O.1 AITD ADDEI'IDAI 3&4 FIOR FY20il2 23 Sr. No. A.ilE TIALE CON TITUEITCY aigErtur. ol Ho!. Opolot Partck lded chdrEen Krchuab.h Countv 02 Hon. g.ErkEyu Ign ttus Mudini Dcput' chelrEan Elgon Cou.aty I '1 o3 Hon Dr Keefa Krwanuka Member County Krboga East Vel.,*n'iQ', 04 Hon Namukuta Brcnda Mcmbcr DWR Kalrro "[L-.!, 05 Magogo Hon Moses Member Budrope West 06 Hon Kaberuka Ruupr Jamcs Member County Krnlozr West o? Hon Katahhwa Donald Membcr Mwenge County South 08 Hon. Mutono Patnck lrdor Member Butebo County il(trE- 09 Hon. l.okrr John Baptust Member Mathenrko County ----->il: lo Akamba Hon PauI Member Bus (r County A 11 Mqane Hon Mpaka Member Crty Mbarara South t2 Hon Namul.,u Clssy DlomzE Member DWR Lwcngo b'7iG-', 13 Hon Ssemwanga Gyavura Member Buyamba County t4 Hon Kateshumbwa Drckson Member Shecma Mumclpahty 15 Hon Naycbale Svlvn Mcmbcr DWR Gomba 16 Alcpcr Hon Moses Mcmbcr Chckru County (*- t7 Hon Katuslrme Member DWR Bushcnvr W - \

Highly noted, Mr Speaker. The findings: The Status of DGAL Forensic Laboratories DGAL has acquired the land title for the headquarters at Wandegeya and the designs for the DNA data bank infrastructure building have been approved by KCCA. However, there were no releases on the development budget for quarter one of the Financial Year 2022/2023. This has greatly affected the commencement of works on the building. DGAL has four regional forensic laboratories situated in Mbale for the Elgon and the entire eastern region, Mbarara for Western Region, Gulu for the northern region and Moroto for the North Eastern and Karamoja sub regions. All these have their land titles, except Mbarara where efforts to get the land title is underway. The DGAL developed an organisation plan for regional forensic laboratories as a systematic guide to operationalise the laboratories and offer more accessible forensic, analytical and advisory services to stakeholders at regional level. Recruitment of forensic scientists to staff the regional forensic laboratory has been embarked on with the 10 Government analysts recruited at the end of the financial year. Clearance for recruitment for the Financial Year 2022/2023 has been sought from the Ministry of Public Service through the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, it should be noted that DGAL approved staff structures are 124 positions. As of July 2022, only 65 positions are filled, putting it at 52.4 per cent leaving 59 positions vacant. Day care facilities have been set up in Mbale Regional Laboratory to cater for breastfeeding and expectant mothers who are part of the staff and clientele. The renovations and furnishing of basic scientific equipment have been provided for the regional forensic laboratory. Parliament appropriated an additional Shs 8 billion to DGAL for the Financial Year 2022/2023 for the regional forensic laboratories to acquire modern scientific equipment to add forensic analysis in the regions. An additional Shs 6.4 billion is needed to fully equip and operationalise all the regional laboratories. [Mr Muwuma] SECTORAL COMMITTEE REPORT

\ I a 18. t9. 22. 30 Hon Akumu Colherine Moveniino INDEP soRoTr wEsT DrvrsroN INDEP UPDF REPRESEMATIVE UPOF DWR RAKAI REPRESENTATIVE NORTHERN NRM #F NRM Hon. Erngi Polrrck Nyonzi BUTEMEA COUNTY OTUKE EAST COUNTY NRM 20. i tion. Acon Julius Buo I 21 23. DWR SIRONKO DISTRICT . NRM FOC FDC 24. DWR LUWERO NUP Hon. Nobukenyo Brendo 25. Hon. Ssewungu .Joseph KAI.UNGU WEST NUP NUP 26 llon. Nsombo Potrrck Oshobe KASSANDA NORTH NUP Hon. Kokembo Michoel ENTEBBE MUNICIPALIIY INDEP BULAMBULI COUNTY 27. 28 29 BUSIA MUNICIPLAITY INDEP GULU EAST INDEP INDEP 3r INDEP 32 Hon. Kotenyo lsooc Hon Aogon Silos Hon. Rev. Fr. Chorles Onen Hon. Mocho Geoffrey KUMI MUNICIPALITY SURUtI COUNIY KASHARI SOUTH COUNTY 33. INOEP Hon. Akugizibwe Aled Ronold Hon. ltungo Nothon Twesigye Hon. Ebwolu Jonolhon Hon. Lt. Col. Or. Jennifer Alonyo Hon Suubi Juliet Kyinyomolomo 34 35 36

8083 THE E LEVENTH P ARLIAMENT OF U GANDA TUESDAY , 18 APRIL 2023 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. We agree that prevention is better because we do not even have enough resources to do the compensation. If we were to compensate 7,000 people - let me give you a simple scenario, for example. If you look at the Uganda Wildlife Act that you passed in 2019, it appropriates only 2 per cent of our gate collections for compensation. If you look at what we have left, it is slightly less than Shs 2 billion – because we were not collecting enough money due to COVID-19. So, we have around Shs 2 billion to compensate around 7,000 claimants – both death and treatment. The Act also says that Parliament can appropriate money to support this cause but it would still be too much. As the Speaker said, we would not wish to continue compensating because the problem keeps getting out of hand. The best way forward would be for us to fence because the fencing is effective. We will continue, of course, asking Parliament to support us. As the Executive, we will continue extending the fence where we can. A number of issues were raised to do with the monkeys. We have said on the Floor of this House that in most districts, we have vermin officers that we train and they usually deal with these animals. You actually do not need to come to UWA. We only come in if the problem is too big and they need our support. Most of the districts have these officers that know how to deal with them. To my brother from the Elgon region, it is true that we went to the Elgon region together and visited the communities around the park. I remember we agreed on the issue of boundaries. We all agree that the 2019 Act does not allow for degazettement currently. However, there are some areas where people had already settled and we went and had a discussion with them. We agree that as much as we cannot come to Parliament now to request for degazettement, we recognise the fact that they are already on that land. In some areas where we erroneously took some land and considered it under the protected area of Mount Elgon, we agreed that the people can stay on this land -

LISI OF ABBREVIATIOilA AGOA BINP BUBU CITES CEDP.AF Financing CFTA COMESA CSBAG DCO EAC EPA EPZs FTA FY GDP GoU IFMS LG MAAIF MEMD MENP Government of Uganda Integrated Financial Management System Local Government Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisherie Ministry of Energr & Mineral Development Mt. Elgon National Par African Growth and Opportunities Act Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Buy Uganda, Build Uganda Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Competitiveness & Enterprise Development Project-Additional Continental Free Trade Area Common Market for Eastem and Southern Africa Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group District Commercial Officer East African Community Economic Partnership Agreement Export Processing Zones Free Trade Area Financial Year Gross Domestic Product , 3

of Tourism Film Festivals CIFYI 2022 in Valencia Spain, Zagreb Tour film Festival in Serbia and Cannes Media Fitm Festival in France. ll Explore Uganda brand gained international visibility on CNN where Uganda was recognized as one of the top 23 destinations to visit in 2023. Explore Uganda brand was rolled out in three markets at 6 expos Magical Kenya United States Tour Operators Association USTOA Annual Conference and Marketplace Kenya-Uganda Tourism Business Summit in Mombasa, IBTM Barcelona, World Travel Market London Africa Hotel Investment Forum AHIF held in Morocco Uganda's Tourism products promoted in 9 domestic and regional tourism events and the Elgon Campaign conducted covering Elgon Cultural Festival Food dance music exhibition of crafts 3 Hills Challenge Taq/et marathon with the Champions arnong others Digital marketing campaigns and promotions conducted and positive analytics on the social media platforms of a combined post impression of 6586776 and a cumulative post reach of 34109 19 Supported organization of a familiarization tour across Uganda for a delegation of 30 Kenyan tour operators in partnership with Uganda Tourism Association. Destination promotion content provided for Uganda Airlines inflight magazine Ngaali Dec 2O22-Feb 2O23 and Safari Uganda media campaign produced and aired on nation media channets print and broadcast for the festive season Coordinated the Uganda Mombasa tourism conference and exhibition tll lv. vl. vll vlll. held in Mombasa Kenya. I' I t \[| ,, L egD 13

4.L.2 Sub-progranne Infrastructure Product Dcvclopmeat end ConECrt etlon i. Maintained 58km of electric fence in Protected Areas (PAs) against a target of 61kms. ii. Invasive species management continued in PAs with l78.2tra against an annual target of 250 ha of invasive species cleared. iii. Maintained a total of 243km against annual target of 416kms of PA boundary. Boundar5r management continued with l5km of the PAs boundary planted with live markers. iv. Law enforcement operations across the country to combat wildlife crime continued smoothly with 5182 patrols conducted. v. A total of85O Rangers against a target of800 were recruited and trained. vi. 868 Rangers trained in military at Kaweweta Recruit Training School. vii. A total of 37ha against annual target of 250 ha of the degraded area in Kibaale, Mt. Elgon and Rwenzori mountains restored. viii. The Revenue sharing funds worth UUGX 4,002,905,463 was disbursed to communities neighbouring protected areas of Queen, Kibaale and L. Mburo National Parks. ix. 392.5km of roads were maintained in PAs. x. 1,2 18kn of trails, 533km of tracks and 392.5km of roads were maintained and 5 new bridges were installed in Kyambura Gorge to ease chimp tracking within the gorge. xi. 15 Historical Sites and Monuments including Partiko Wedelai Nyero kakoro Komuge, Kapir Dolwe Ichagushe Barlonyo and Bigo Byamugenyi were developed and maintained as part of cultural heritage conservation. xii. The Museums and Monuments Bill was approved by Parliament. It enhances the utilization, protection and promotion of cultural heritage resources as well as the participation by the ho conservation and tourism to benefit from these assets St mmunities ( t4

Thank you for shutting down this honourable minister who was coming to share the microphone. (Laughter) The question – I am concluding quickly - by Hon. Christine, the Woman Member of Kiboga about Kyankwanzi, Rt Hon. Prime Minister, you did not dispense the justice that I anticipated to this question because a one Bosco Kasoko died. You were over defensive in your response. We have seen similar challenges around Mount Elgon National Park where these trigger-happy UWA authorities have killed people. Equally, the NFA could have armed themselves because they knew the encroachers would maybe turn violent. And if anyone was killed unlawfully, their survivors are entitled to compensation. You did not go that farther. The question by Hon. Mbwatekamwa - he had a very valid concern about cement. The fundamental question we should ask is: how much cement is in the cement that we use? I am saying so because the Uganda Bureau of Standards is sleeping on the job. We should begin with trying to measure that cement. It is no longer the exact quantity. Even twisted bars, Mr Speaker, Y12, the standard length should be 40 feet - is it is an imperial system - in feet. However, it is much less. It is 38, 36 or 34.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I presented this statement last week; there is only some little information that I have added, and I am going to summarise it. This is a brief to Parliament on the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF). The Northern Uganda Social Action Fund is an affirmative action financed by the World Bank. It is committed to addressing high poverty levels and social economic disparities in greater Northern Uganda. Northern Uganda Social Action Fund I and II, focused on infrastructure development while NUSAF III focused on support to households; it ended in June 2021. Northern Uganda Social Action Fund was implemented and focused on a number of activities that included agriculture and animal husbandry, fish farming, environment conservation, trade and value addition, water and roads. Having implemented it, a number of achievements were registered bearing in mind that this targeted the real grassroots households. This included increased household income and assets like livestock, poultry, bicycle, radio, mobile phones, beddings, kitchen facilities, solar lighting and roofing materials and increased household food security and household savings. Despite Government intervention, the poverty indicators in Northern Uganda are still high. If you go to page three, you will see a table, which shows the trends of poverty prevalence; we have picked nine subregions. The causes of high poverty in Northern Uganda are attributed to overreliance on subsistence farming, lack of perennial cash crops, dependency syndrome, limited skills, lack of value addition, low productivity, land fragmentation, limited employment opportunities, environmental degradation, low access to financial credit, and poor mindset. Following the registered achievements, Cabinet, in January 2022, authorised the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), together with the Ministry of Finance to design NUSAF IV. It is proposed that NUSAF IV will have a subregional focus and will support sustainable livelihood and shock-responsive interventions to build household resilience. The project will target 39 per cent of the poor households in the subsistence economy. NUSAF IV is estimated to cost $220 million as a loan and $40 to $50 million as a grant. It will cover West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Teso, Karamoja, Bukedi, Elgon, Bunyoro and Busoga. The components are: i. Sustainable livelihood support; ii. Strengthening safety net for enhanced resilience and human development; and iii. Transformational delivery system. It is envisaged that these are going to complement the Parish Development Model, especially in the areas of production storage, processing and marketing, which is pillar one; enhancing financial inclusion is pillar three; enhancing mind-set change is pillar five and management information system, which is pillar six. The progress so far made is that there has been established an inter-ministerial committee to

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am rising on two issues, especially on the first and second pillars. I wanted to ask the Minister of Local Government regarding the first pillar on production, storage, processing and marketing and the second pillar on infrastructure development and economic services. Mr Speaker, some people will soon start producing crops from their gardens and other areas, but we do not have preparations for storage and the money, which has been provided, does not cater for food storage facilities. On the issue of infrastructure development, after the disasters in the Elgon zone, we are facing problems of roads, especially feeder roads in parishes and subcounties. The money you provide is very little and people keep on asking us about the bad roads and yet the PDM programme provided for this infrastructure. When will you provide these funds and how much money did you budget in this Financial Year 2023/2024 for the development of infrastructure under the PDM so that we can be in position to tell our people? We have questions that we cannot answer. Moreover when changing guidelines for the PDM, you do not inform us, as Members of Parliament. We go to the radios and people call us, but we do not have answers to some of the questions we normally face from the public. Mr Speaker, I think the Minister of Local Government should be in position to make clarification on these three issues. Thank you.

Madam Speaker, it was demolished. They alleged that it carried some ghosts and that some women were suffering miscarriages because of that machine. I do not know. Disaster Risk Management Plan The Disaster Risk Management Plan was approved by Cabinet and presented before Parliament in November 2022. The document was launched in a bid to attain donor support on 21 September 2023 with a letter requesting for support also written. Funds are still being awaited from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to embark on the implementation of the planned activities. Disaster Preparedness and Management Bill The regulatory impact assessment was conducted and the principles are ready to be tabled before Cabinet this April. A tentative roadmap was developed as we await the approval of the principles. Resettlement through physical relocation and cash transfers to vulnerable households Following the completion of the additional 42 houses in Bunambutye Resettlement Area in Bulambuli District, a team is on the ground right now to ensure that 42 households that are highly prone to landslides are relocated and resettled from across five districts in Elgon subregion by the end of this week. This shall bring the total number of houses completed in Bunambutye to 305. An additional 50 houses have been planned for construction during quarter four of Financial Year 2022/2023. Further to the above, we are implementing a cash transfer strategy that was approved by the Cabinet on 12 September 2022 as a suitable option to resettle people at risk of landslides in Elgon sub-region. With the support of Give Direct International, a partner, 4,000 households have been targeted from the high-risk districts of Bududa (2,050), Manafwa (900), Namisindwa (500) and Sironko (550). Identification and registration in Bududa District has been completed for 2,116 households and validation is ongoing. Registration is on-going in Manafwa to be followed by Sironko and Namisindwa districts respectively. Each registered household at high risk of landslides in Elgon sub-region will be supported with around Shs 17 million. Shs 10 million is from the Government of Uganda and the NGO – Give Direct – will give Shs 7 million to each beneficiary. The internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the districts of Kasese, Kayunga and Ntoroko Land was identified and bought to resettle internally-displaced persons from the districts of Kasese and Kayunga. A total of 200 acres has been secured in each of the districts.

7826 MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Additionally, relief food and tarpaulins have been sent to Kasese and Ntoroko for the IDPs in the camps during this month of March. We also sent 20,000 kilogrammes of maize flour and 10,000 kilogrammes of beans to each of these districts, with 164 and 100 pieces of tarpaulins respectively. On food security Basing on the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) food security bulletin projections of September 2022 to January 2023 and U-NIEWS Bulletin, Karamoja was predicted to face food insecurity. Subsequently, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development released Shs 20 billion for relief food for Karamoja and other areas across the country. A projected amount of 3,348,200 kilogrammes of maize and 1,674,100 kilogrammes of beans is to be procured. Relief interventions will be provided on a case by case basis from the MAM impact on other regions in the country. Assessments and continuous monitoring of the hazard events A food security and nutrition assessment with support from UN agencies and OPM, led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health, is being conducted in Karamoja to inform the food security and nutrition status for the coming period. Continuous monitoring of hazard events in addition to updates from the district disaster management committees, through the National Emergency Coordination and Operation Centre (NECOC), is ongoing. Products from UNMA such as the 10 days forecast shall inform on the progress of the rain. The Government of Uganda is partnering with the Uganda Red Cross Society to strengthen community-based disaster risk reductions and management. Early warning systems/ messages, assessments and community preparedness plans are some of the activities undertaken to build community resilience to hazards and disasters. Reporting through the NECOC toll free line – we all know the number - 0800-177777 – especially for human-induced hazards has been done and is continuously being taken. Madam Speaker, as I conclude, these are some of the key challenges faced by our department. No funding has been advanced to the Disaster Risk Management Plan by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development since it was approved by Cabinet on 11 July 2022. The funding requirement for the short- term period between 2022/2023 to 2024/2025, equivalent to the presidential pledge of US$ 50 million (Shs 185 billion) has not yet been released from a total of Shs 867 billion over the 10 years. Similarly, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development is yet to release the Government of Uganda component under the cash transfer for resettlement in the Elgon subregion. The amount of relief food required vis-a-vis the frequency and magnitude of disasters is high. I thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you so much, Madam Speaker. Having listened to the report given to us by the Minister for Disaster Preparedness on the disaster management plans, she talked about the resettlement of people in the Elgon Region. However, six months ago, the Minister of Disaster Preparedness led by the Hon. Prime Minister, committed herself when they visited Bugisu Region. They discovered a number of bridges were washed away by the floods, but in her report, she did not capture that yet the ministry committed itself to raise Shs 200 billion as emergency funds to take care of the roads in the Mt Elgon Region. I, therefore, want to know how the ministry will manage the aspect of damaged roads and bridges in the Bugisu Region. I want to hear that from her, thank you.

My expectation comes with the communication you made and the great concerns about the heavy downpours in the areas of Mt Elgon, which has cracked. By the way, I should not withhold my appreciation to the Office of the Prime Minister for procuring early warning gadgets and systems. However, why should we provide warning systems and gadgets where God has already provided them; like a crack, for instance? We are talking about numerous cracks in a high- risk mountainous terrain. Why talk of early warning systems honestly? We should thank God that it is no longer ‘ Ebigwa tebilaze’ . It has already warned us in advance. What I expected is emergency relocation of the people living in those hills. Even the internally displaced persons who were affected by the landslides in 2010, 2012 and the subsequent years have returned to the landslide scars and settled there out of frustration. There is need for emergency relocation of these people. I must also thank you for the Bulambuli Resettlement Scheme. In your report, you mentioned that the target is 100,000 households, but it is six years down the road and you have covered only 305 households. The houses that are ready are 42, according to the statement. If you do a computation, it will take us about 57 years to complete the target of 100,000 households. I can see that Hon. Baryomunsi is agitated, but this is the truth of mathematics, this is science. You cannot dispute this. Should we wait until Jesus Christ comes back? By the way, the cash transfer strategy is good, but it is only able to cover less than 1,000 households. If it were not for financial constraints, that would be the best option to quickly solve this challenge of relocating people for eventual resettlement. (Interruption)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will start with what my colleague from Elgon came up with - on issues of why they are leaving some districts. International organisations are now piloting the four Elgon districts. Once we are sure that we have successfully acquired this, we should be able to take to other districts including Mt Rwenzori. On the issue of bridges during floods in Elgon, the Ministry of Works did the assessment and I am sure they are working on this report. Lake Albert submerging most of the health centres as raised by Hon. David - we also have Butyaba Health Centre III. This was newly constructed by the Office of the Prime Minister in Buliisa. About the cracks in Bududa - we are doing the relocation right now with a cash transfer; we have ring-fenced all the settlements that are on those cracks. These are the people we are going to relocate by this Wednesday. Most of them are going to receive their cash in two weeks’ time - by the 15 th of April - and they have to leave the place. We are only still waiting for the Ministry of Finance to release the Shs 50 billion to top up and make it Shs 10 million for each beneficiary, since the organisation is giving us Shs 7 million for each of them. But at least, they will first receive the Shs 7 million as we give them a condition to leave. So, that is going to be taken care of. Then in Bududa alone, we are giving 2,116 beneficiaries, compared to the rest of the districts in Elgon. On the question raised by Hon. Mudimi, I think the Prime Minister has clarified the issue of Bunambutye land. On the question raised by Hon. Mpuuga, the Prime Minister has also responded – it will depend on the rationalisation. On the question by the honourable member from Kiboga, we know very well that we have district disaster management committees in each of these districts and the chief administrative officer is the chairman of the committee. So, the way we disseminate information - we know our people pick this information through the radios and TVs, but at the same time, the district disaster management committees at the districts handle the issue of training. They are all trained and they are –(Interruption)

There is a valid concern, Madam Speaker, arising from your Communication from the Chair, especially when you talked about the rains. The rains are usually a blessing but when it comes to the heavy pounding rains that occur in the disaster- prone Elgon subregion - those high-risk hills like those in Bududa, Sironko and even in Sebei are full of cracks yet the Bulambuli Resettlement Scheme is moving at snail pace. Currently, they have attempted to resettle 51 households only from Bududa. I would like to know from the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness how prepared they are. What plans do they have, as stopgap measures, to temporarily resettle the people who are now seeking refuge in places of worship and in schools?

Madam Speaker, I seek your indulgence. Sometime back, we tasked the minister responsible for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees to provide a comprehensive plan on how to avert calamities within the country. In your Communication from the Chair, when you referred to the immediate challenges coming with the rains, I thought that the findings of the study that was conducted by the scientists in the Elgon and Rwenzori areas, mapping out all the vulnerable places, are not being utilised. The scientists are frustrated because they do a lot of work yet the findings are not being followed by the Government. Therefore, I urge that when the Government tasks these scientists, they should put to use the findings and that the comprehensive plan of averting calamities in the country must be reinforced.

7224 THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SPORTS BILL, 2022 The bridges that were substantially completed in the Financial Years 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 require at least Shs 17 billion to cover retention monies for the respective services provided after the final project has been handed over. The list shows the bridges which have been done. National roads under procurement We have four rehabilitation projects covering 323.5 kilometres and these are in table five. Externally financed strategic national roads and bridges A total of 13 projects covering a length of 720.8 kilometres have committed financing from development partners and shall require counterpart funding for land acquisition from the Government of Uganda. The estimated amount is Shs 254 billion required over a period of three years to ensure timely acquisition of the right-of-way and utilisation of the committed funds for successful project implementation. These details are contained in table six. Town roads A total of three town roads projects covering a length of 41 kilometres are under procurement. We require an estimated amount of Shs 213 billion for the implementation over the next two years. The details are in table seven. National roads under procurement without confirmed financing Many of these are what you have been referring to as directives; in blue letters. Among the national roads prioritised for implementation and Integrated Transport Infrastructure Services Programme (ITIS) for the NDPIII period, a total of 12, covering a length of 964 kilometres are already in advanced stages of procurement. It is estimated that they will require funding of Shs 3.7 trillion without the cost of land acquisition. The details of the specific requirements for each road are in table eight. National roads and bridges due for maintenance interventions Currently, there are 10 paved national roads totalling 436.6 kilometres that have been technically assessed to be in need of rehabilitation intervention. They require a funding of about Shs 596 billion and the details are in table nine. Periodic maintenance A total of 1,204 kilometres of paved roads have been technically assessed to be in urgent need of periodic maintenance intervention to deter accelerated deterioration, rehabilitation or construction phases which would require five or more times the current costs in the next three years. They constitute key links within the national network and require about Shs 1.3 trillion over the next three years. These are in table 10. Bridge development The national road network, which is 72 per cent unpaved, traverses swamps, streams and rivers across the country. Some sections of the national road network across the country become very slippery and difficult to manoeuvre and a few totally get submerged or washed away whenever it rains. We had such an occurrence in the Elgon region and Bundibugyo areas. The national unpaved road network has a total of 297 bridges across river crossings. Some of these bridges are as old as 70 years while others were installed as temporary crossing to aid movement. Over time, the Government of Uganda has been replacing the temporary bridges with permanent structures whose service life is about 50 years. UNRA identified 21 small bridges across the national unpaved road network for reconstruction and eight locations where there exist culvert lines that require replacement with the new bridges. The proposed 29 bridges will form part of the future paved network when the roads are designed and upgraded to Class II paved standards. [Gen. Katumba] MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

Tomorrow, Mr Speaker, I will be in Sironko, Bukwo and then Aleles, which are on the eastern leg. I have been reminded that I could go to Namutumba also, so that I complete the Mount Elgon area and Kapchorwa region. You know very well the kind of projects that are going on there and the controversy surrounding them. So, my officer requested me to go and get an on-the-spot understanding of what is going on. So, this week I do not want to deceive this House –

Thank you. I have a programme. After Rwenzori next week, I will be going with my colleagues to Aleles, Mt. Elgon and Bukwo. I will now include this one also in my leg to the Eastern side.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to give information. He is my neighbour. Actually, it is the entire Elgon subregion, not only Kapchorwa. That is it. I wanted to give you that information so that you carry on. Thank you.

Thank you very much, my honourable colleague. What I am saying is that the entire Elgon Region is hilly. You are either sloping or climbing. When you come to the allocations we always do here for our road maintenance, even the machines you gave to districts for road maintenance - I can assure you that the one of Kween has been down for the last one year. You cannot blame us. The problem is the terrain. The machine works under very tough conditions. Even where it is flat, still, it is packed with loam soil, which is soft. When it comes to sending money to the districts in Sebei, you can only maintain the road during the dry season between November and April. However, from May to November, you cannot do anything because of the soils.

Madam Speaker, happy New Year to you, especially from the fraternity of Rastas in this Parliament. I am a proud owner of not merely a plantation, but a wood load. I appreciate the statement from the Leader of the Opposition. It is true and right that we must protect and conserve our forests. However, I would have loved to hear how the private citizens of this country are encouraged to plant, preserve and conserve trees. There should be some way of encouragement from Government specifically that those who have either plantations or wood loads are encouraged, possibly with a small fund, so that the trees are conserved as well. Secondly, Government is the number one deforester. I have been grappling with my people in Mount Elgon. Those of us who come from that region know that those who are supposed to protect the environment are the problem. They are the ones cutting down trees deep in the forests. Please, Government, we are re-awakening you to check that. I know I have my friends around that place and it touches them when I talk about this on the Floor of Parliament. Lastly, the weak environment enforcement agencies - Madam Speaker, this House should know that we even have Environment Police – (Member timed out.)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Bukedi has very many districts, including Tororo. It is followed by Acholi Subregion at 47 per cent - Yes, you people of Acholi are at 47 per cent. You have intimate violence. The Elgon Region is at 33 per cent, and South Buganda is the lowest at 8 per cent; so congratulations, South Buganda. Madam Speaker, I will not talk about Teso. The survey further revealed that 47 per cent of women face economic violence while sexual violence by non-partners from the age of 15 years stood at 55 per cent, with 14 per cent perpetrated by close relatives. Emotional violence stands at 55 per cent. According to the Uganda Annual Police Crime Report of 2021, a total of 16,242 cases of gender-based violence and violence against children were reported; 8,065 of those were cases of domestic violence; 6,838 were cases of defilement; 749 were cases of rape; 223

Thank you, Madam Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to raise this matter of national public importance. On 30 June 2021, the implementation of the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF III) ended. This programme focused on household income generation, livelihood support and public works. In the same month, the Uganda National Bureau of Statistics released a report showing a very worrying trend in as far as poverty across the country is concerned, most especially, covering northern Uganda. Madam Speaker, you recall that several months ago, the Rt Hon. Prime Minister communicated to this House the decision taken by Cabinet to provide a successor programme as a deliberate effort to address the worrying poverty situation across northern and eastern Uganda or, I would say, the greater north. We are informed that the World Bank had demonstrated commitment to providing funds and what was left was for the Government of Uganda to fast-track the programme design processes. However, it is sad to note that the design phase has stagnated because the resources required have not been provided. Madam Speaker, this means that the successor programme will not be taking place unless the design processes are undertaken – but it should also ensure the highest level of participation and involvement by the people in the greater north. I, therefore, would like to make the following prayers: i) The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development should explain to this House why they have been hesitant and have failed to provide the funds needed for the design aspect. ii) The Government of Uganda should show commitment and expedite the processes to enable the successor programme to kick off. iii) Finally, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development should create time and interact with Members of Parliament from West Nile, Karamoja, Teso, Lango, Bunyoro, Acholi, Elgon and Bukedi to discuss, in detail, how this successor programme will be worked on so that we help in the fight against poverty. Thank you very much.

6244 STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT The humble petition of the Bududa landslide victims of 1 March 2010 who were resettled in Kiryandongo District presented on their behalf by myself, showeth and states, Your humble petitioners are the victims of the landslide events of 1 March 2010 in Namase village, Bududa District, which was recorded as the largest and most severe in terms of casualty numbers in that at least 100 people are believed to have been killed; 94 bodies were recovered and several others displaced. Your humble petitioners state that: a. They were resettled by the Government of Uganda to Kiryandongo district as a humanitarian intervention following displacement and total destruction of their homes, property and sources of livelihood. b. During the resettlement exercise, the Government pledged to issue your humble petitioners with land titles and to construct housing structures for them and their families, a pledge that has not been fulfilled for the past 12 years. c. Out of the 603 housing structures that the Government promised to construct for the humble petitioners, only 289 have been constructed to date and that out of the 289, 114 are incomplete, without windows, doors, water tanks and pit latrines. d. They lack access to secondary education. e. They face insecurity and hostility from host communities with whom they contest ownership of land, especially due to the fact that the Government did not issue them with land titles upon resettlement. f. On 12 December 2018, Parliament adopted the report of the Committee on Presidential Affairs on the status of the resettlement of the landslide victims in the Elgon subregion and resolved that the Government steps up interventions in developing the necessary infrastructure in Kiryandongo and ensure that programmes intended by the Office of the Prime Minister for the resettled victims be mainstreamed into local government structures of Kiryandongo District. The same resolution has not been implemented nor has an action report been filed in Parliament. Your humble petitioners have suffered for the past 12 years to no avail of effective Government intervention and now seek the intervention of Parliament in their plight. Now, therefore, your humble petitioners pray that: 1. Parliament urges the Government to prioritise the construction of housing structures for the remaining 289 households and the completion of the 114 houses. 2. Government issues land titles to your petitioners, as pledged by Government, granting them legal ownership on the land. 3. Government should investigate the matter of insecurity and contention over land ownership among the resettled landslide victims with the end goal of granting the victims legal ownership over the land on which they were resettled. Your humble petitioners are duty bound and will ever pray; and hereto, your humble petitioners have appended their signatures, Madam Speaker. I want to lay the copy of the petition.

6164 MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Secondly, my view is that this House should enable the ministry to work on preventive, not only disaster response because the causes of disasters are known. The Elgon and the Rwenzori regions are hit by disasters every year and the causes are known. Therefore, is it possible for this House to allocate resources to address corrective measures such that even the budget for these disasters will be reduced in the future? If we empower the local government committees, as the honourable colleague stated, I believe the response will be faster. I reported an issue from my constituency where a landslide destroyed people’s houses and gardens, but to-date, there is no response. If the local government committees are empowered, I believe proper service will be rendered to our people. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The concern I have on the report is about the supply of drugs. Mbale Regional Referral Hospital serves about three regions, that is, Sebei, Elgon, Bugisu and Bukedi. However, in the report, from Shs 1.5 billion allocated for the supply of drugs, they only supplied drugs worth Shs 197 million. Mr Speaker, those of us who come from the east know that Mbale Regional Referral Hospital is overstretched. The volume of the people going there is too high. Patients sleep on the verandas and there is too much demand for drugs. Like one of the Members – (Member timed out.)

Thank you, Mr Speaker. When landslides happened in the Elgon subregion, Shs 5 million was given to the people who lost their dear ones. It was from the President’s office. People from Bugisu got theirs, but those from Sebei did not. I would like to ask the Prime Minister: What happened to the money for the people of Sebei?

Thank you, Speaker. I rise on a matter of national importance concerning the conflict between the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the community in Sironko District over the Mount Elgon National Park. Mr Speaker, we have issues over boundaries. Right from 1936 to 1993, the people of Sironko COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR

Thank you. Honourable member, next time when raising such issues, please, do not conclude on matters which need to be investigated. When you conclude that extortion took place, you leave no room for investigation. Now, this is a very sensitive issue, Prime Minister. Some time back when I was the Government Chief Whip, I was hosted by Hon. John Faith Magolo at Mt. Wanale in Bungokho, and I met several people there. The issue of boundaries is very important. The issue is that UWA is saying, “You should maintain the boundaries of 1968”, but the people are saying, “No, we should go with the one of 1992.” You have a group which talks of 1992 and another one that talks of 2000 something. If you are to go with the one of 1968, you will find that part of Mbale City is in the national park. (Laughter) These are the issues we should be realistic about. I moved around and I saw it. Rt Hon. Prime Minister, you need to take this issue seriously. On top of what she said, you need to meet the MPs from the Elgon area and discuss this matter. It is at boiling point and you better address it early. However, do not focus on what I raised. The Member raised her issues properly.

You can follow it up with a meeting. This is your senior colleague; please, share. Also, it is important that MPs from the Elgon area – because nearly more than - should I say 80 per cent of the MPs from the Elgon area - are bringing these issues to our office every day.

Rt Hon. Prime Minister, last week, Elgon County experienced floods and mudslides. I shared the information with your teams on WhatsApp and got information that your teams were coming for assessment. Up to now, nobody from your office has gone there to see what is happening. I have been waiting there for three days. People are displaced, bridges have been washed away and children are not going to school. What intervention do you have for Bulambuli County in the short, medium and long terms?

Mr Speaker, I request that you give me more than two minutes so that I answer this question conclusively. Mr Speaker, Cabinet has come up with a strategy, under the guidance of the wise President of the Republic of Uganda. We have been constructing houses and the construction takes too long. Through our consultative meetings with the Members of Parliament, we agreed that instead of struggling for years and years to construct houses, let us do cash transfers to people. When we give people money, they can go and buy land on their own. The Members of Parliament will help us to sensitise people so that people do not misuse the money. We have already identified one of the donors, that is, GiveDirectly. This donor is going to give Shs 7 million per house, per household and the Government of Uganda has earmarked Shs 10 million. I believe Shs 17 million is enough to bring down someone from the dangerous enclaves of the Elgon and Rwenzori mountains, so that we settle these people once and for all. Once that is done, Government will plant forests and gazette it as a national park. We have come up with this design.

Rt Hon. Prime Minister, I had requested earlier on that you should not get tired of regularly meeting MPs from the Elgon area because the issues are very many in my Office. Colleagues, if you had spoken earlier, please, you know that I will not pick you. So, do not bother standing.

Mr Speaker, I thank you. Let me start with the Prime Minister’s response to the people of Mount Elgon. “GiveDirectly” was closed during COVID-19 because it was trying to give out money and you closed it. Now, you are saying, “In Mount Elgon, it is going to give out money.” Where have you gotten the newfound love and what could have gone wrong during the COVID-19 period that this agency was closed; now you are in love with it and it is giving money in the Mount Elgon area? Secondly, Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister has spoken about population census. We are careful about the timing of the census. The timing of the population census determines representation of the people. I come from a region where we have huge numbers in terms of population size in constituencies. Because of that, the Electoral Commission has not demarcated new constituencies based on population. It has gone for Affirmative Action and districts, and that undermines - That is why we call upon you to fast-track the population census and not do what you did the other time to bring the official results after the general election, because before elections, the Electoral Commission is supposed to demarcate constituencies - new ones as per the population census. We hope you will not gerrymander and cause a Parliament where effective lesser people are not effectively represented. On the housing policy, Mr Speaker, I have seen you speak about the initiative of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), but this country requires a profound housing policy. Housing is so critical. It is even one of the drivers of corruption. As people work – now you have said that about 50 per cent of our population is going to be living in urban areas – are you going to leave it to NSSF or does Government have a strategy on how to improve housing in this country? Where is the strategy? How many housing units will the country need and how will you build them?

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Honourable member, thank you, for raising this matter. Yesterday we had an extensive discussion in the Cabinet. I have actually communicated to the public today about the intentions of Government regarding resettling people who live on those risky slopes in the mountainous areas like the greater Elgon, Rwenzori and even my own Kigezi areas. I would like to appeal to the honourable members to work together with us to sensitise our people to shift from those risky slopes. I was, over the weekend, in Kasese. It was very traumatising to see how people had been buried underground by the huge mudslide. We also agreed in the Cabinet, like he has prayed, that a technical team goes down these areas to assess the conditions of the communities there and guide them, particularly those on slopes, which are above 30 degrees’ gradient, to relocate to lower areas, which are less risky. Maybe the Minister responsible for Disaster Preparedness will be coming to Parliament to give us the comprehensive plan on shifting and relocating people who live in areas, which are at great risk. We would not want to continue losing people because of landslides and this kind of preventable death.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to thank the committee for the report. We, from the Mt Elgon region, have been hit by disasters because nature is fighting back; flash floods, landslides - because the hills and mountains are bare. As a matter of urgency - Government needs to relocate people from Mt Elgon and let the trees occupy their natural habitat. I am glad that the committee was able to interface with the Ministry of Energy regarding utilisation of renewable energies because 90 per cent of the energy is biomass, meaning people are cutting down trees as a source of fuel. There is a free connection policy. What happened? The regulator has now introduced – (Member timed out.)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have just been reading the disaster alert from the Office of the Prime Minister, signed by the permanent secretary. Reports from the Uganda National Meteorological Authority are forecasting heavy rains from September to December; and a lot of floods, landslides and all the related impacts. Rwenzori and Elgon subregions are already experiencing a lot of disasters, and Madam Prime Minister, you are aware. I am aware you have sent a team to Bundibugyo and Kasese to do a rapid assessment. However, my concern is on the alert; apart from the emergency response that you normally do, I do not see from this alert the preparedness, especially for the mountain areas. We are supposed to do a geohazard mapping or disaster mapping so that we guide people settling in those areas that are likely to experience such, to move away in time before the actual disasters happen. Therefore, I do not know what, as Government, especially the Prime Minister’s office – the one in charge of disaster response in terms of preparedness; how do we prepare our people so that we do not lose lives and property; and so that we minimise the impact of these disasters, because they will happen. That is my concern, Madam Prime Minister.