NRM CEC dismisses parliamentary committee chairmen and suspends nominations of new members

The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party removed all parliamentary committee chairmen and vice-chairmen and postponed the appointment of new leaders for two weeks.

The meeting, chaired by the party’s national chairman, President Yoweri Museveni, at the House of Representatives in Entebbe on Tuesday was the third attempt to establish the leadership of the 15 sectoral committees for the 4th session of Parliament which commenced on June 7, 2024.

Each annual session of Parliament begins with the appointment of new leaders and committee members by the Head of Government.

Tuesday’s CEC resolution, published by NRM communications director Emmanuel Dombo, resulted in the postponement of the trial.

“The NRM Central Executive Committee met on June 11, 2024, June 14, 2024 and today, June 18, to consider and approve the nomination of NRM members as chairman, vice-chairmen and members of the relevant sessional (sectoral) parliamentary committees.” – we read in part of the resolution.

It added: “The CEC has decided to postpone the appointment of vacant management positions in the sessional committees for two weeks.”

Meanwhile, at the same meeting, the Chief Minister, Denis Hamson Obua, was instructed to call for new candidates to fill the vacant positions.

The parliamentary meeting to appoint the presidents and vice-presidents was postponed for the third time on Tuesday to Wednesday, but will probably not take place because the CEC has not yet chosen the candidates.

The CEC has always left the responsibility of deciding committee leaders to the party leadership in parliament, but recent developments indicate that the ruling party’s top body has started keeping a close eye on affairs in the House, which has grappled with cases of corruption.

Last week, an anti-corruption court charged and sent Luzira to Legal Affairs Commission vice-chairman Yusuf Mutembula; Lwengo MP, Cissy Namujju and Busiki County MP, Paul Akamba.

Their arrests followed Museveni’s revelation last week during his State of the Nation Address that there was evidence against corrupt government officials, from the Ministry of Finance to Parliament.

Committees include Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Defense and Home Affairs, East African Community Affairs, Education and Sports, Environment and Natural Resources, Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Foreign Affairs and Gender, Labor and Social Development.

Others are the Committee on Health, Information, Communications Technology and National Guidance, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Presidential Affairs, Public Service and Local Government, Tourism, Trade and Industry and the Committee on Physical Infrastructure.