Africa-Press – Uganda. As many as 421, 430 elective positions within the Women Councils and Committees are currently occupied by people whose term of office came to an end in August this year, Daily Monitor can reveal.
In June 2022, the Electoral Commission suspended elections of Village Women Councils and Committees on account of a constricted resource envelope.
The Commission revealed in a statement that while the Village Women Residents’ register had been finalised and displayed, elections couldn’t take place even as the mandate of the occupants of the offices lapsed in August.
Mr Paul Bukenya, the Commission’s publicist, said they were thwarted by the Finance ministry channelling only Shs15.6 billion when it was indicated that ash’s 35.6 billion was required to buttress the exercise.
“…we are waiting for the additional Shs20 billion. When we receive it, we shall organise elections,” Mr Bukenya said in a telephone interview.
The Finance ministry spokesperson, Mr Jim Mugunga, told Daily Monitor yesterday that while “planning and conducting an election is an obligation entrusted to the relevant Uganda Electoral Commission”, it’s imperative that “the planning element [is] appropriate but also timely budgeting for the same”.
“We have proved capacity to budget and fund elections in the past and do so when forward planning is done,” he noted, adding that the ministry remains committed to provide financial resources for all elections planned in advance.
Rigging plans?
The back and forth over the Women Council elections has compelled Mr Mathias Mpuuga, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP), to question the motives of the government.
Mr Mpuuga described the delay as a ploy to rig the poll, adding that this is a damning indictment on the state apparatus.
Mr Mpuuga said those occupying the Women Council offices are doing so illegally and “can be challenged [in courts of law] because there is no war or state of emergency” in the country.
Ms Betty Amongi, the Labour and Gender minister, told Daily Monitor that the same issue was raised in the House and the Attorney General confirmed current occupants of the Women Council offices were doing so illegally. The issue was also discussed at cabinet level, as per Ms Amongi, and the Local Government and Constitutional Affairs ministries were asked to ensure that the way is paved for elections to be conducted as soon as possible.
Ms Amongi also clarified that the Women Council representatives are “serv[ing] on a voluntary basis” through no fault of their own and that they “cannot make any substantial decisions or sign work-related documents.”
She stressed the need for expediting the process of electing new duty bearers to facilitate implementation of government programmes such as the Parish Development Model.
The term for Local Council I and 11 are also due to expire next August. There are growing worries that they too might be affected by financial hiccups.
National Women’s Council
The National Women’s Council (NWC) is an autonomous body, under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
It’s a creation of the National Women’s Council Act 1993 (cap 318). Its objective is to bring all women of Uganda together for development purposes, irrespective of their religion, tribe, origin, status or political affiliation.
It is mandated to organise and unify all women of Uganda who actively contribute to sustainable community and national development through promotion of peace, accountability, justice and self-development through training, sensitisation, networking, lobbying, advocacy and provision of micro-finance credit services.
Concerns
The Ms Betty Amongi, the Labour and Gender minister, told Daily Monitor that the same issue was raised in the House and the Attorney General confirmed current occupants of the Women Council offices were doing so illegally. The issue was also discussed at cabinet level.
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