Constitutionality of the Public Order Management Bill (POMB)

What if the Public Management Order Bill passes? What next…

Uganda is yet to witness the passing of laws that undermine enjoyment of rights but also limit the citizen’s role in governance and holding the state accountable. The Public Order Management Bill (POMB) is one of such proposals raised. The POMB is before Parliament’s Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, which is receiving views on the Bill and if finally passes into law, the POMB will do away with citizen participation hence infringing on their constitutional rights.

Proposers of the Bill have argued that the POMB is necessary to protect public order in Uganda due to increased demonstrations that many times have resulted in destruction of property and inconvenience to those not taking part in the demonstrations (as we all could have witnessed lately).

However, Section 4 of the Bill states that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) shall have the power to direct the conduct of all public meeting hence the Bill seeks to not only control the formation of public gatherings but also control the content of discussions of public meetings and it also subjects the holding of a public meeting to the unfettered discretion of the Inspector General of Police or his authorized officer.

National Objectives and Directive principles of State policy II provides that the state shall be based on democratic principles which empower and encourage the active participation of all citizens at all levels in their own governance which will be infringed by this bill if passed into law.

Constitutionality of the Bill

The Bill defines a public meeting which includes a meeting or gathering,  assembly, concourse, procession or demonstration of three or more persons in or on any public road at which government policy, actions, omissions or failures are discussed; or a meeting organized to form pressure groups to submit petitions to any person or to mobilize or demonstrate support for or opposition to views, principles, policy, actions or omissions of any person or body of persons or institution, including any government administration or government institution. Section 4, 5 and 7 of the Bill provide the IGP (or an authorized officer) with enormous powers to ‘regulate the conduct of all public meetings’, but does not provide a mechanism to be followed by the IGP in exercising his power of ‘regulation.’ The lack of precision in the grant of these powers of regulation gives room for exercise of unlimited, unsafeguarded discretion with serious ramifications for the rule of law and human rights and ultimately the right to assembly and demonstration.

On the other hand, the Constitution guarantees people’s fundamental rights to freely assemble, associate; and express themselves. Article 20 of the Constitution provides that fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual are inherent and not granted by the State.

The Constitution further states that the rights and freedoms of the individual and groups enshrined in this Chapter shall be respected, upheld and promoted by all organs and agencies of Government and by all persons. However, by giving the IGP powers to direct the conduct of all public meetings; and giving Police wide discretion to disperse defiant or unruly crowds at public meetings, this would result in limiting citizens’ freedoms of expression, assembly and association as guaranteed by the constitution.

The issue of police powers in relation to freedoms of assembly, expression and association was already exhaustively discussed and concluded in the Constitutional case of Muwanga Vs. Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 9 of 2005). In this case, Muwanga petitioned the Constitutional Court requesting that s.32(2) of the Police Act should be declared unconstitutional because it infringed on people’s constitutional rights of free association and Assembly.

s. 32(2) of the Police Act stated that: “If it comes to the knowledge of the Inspector General that it is intended to convene any assembly or form any procession on any public road or street or at any place of public resort, and the Inspector general has reasonable grounds for believing that the assembly or procession is likely to cause a breach of the peace, the Inspector general may, by notice to the person responsible for convening the assembly or forming the procession, prohibit the convening of the assembly or forming the procession”

Indeed, one of the key issues in that case, was whether the Police have the powers to disperse lawful assemblies. The Court noted that whereas these freedoms are not absolute, there is an objective standard outlined in Article 43(2) to limit people’s fundamental freedoms. These legal principles were enunciated in the case of Charles Onyango Obbo and Another Vs. the Attorney General where the Supreme Court noted among others that Article 43(2) of the Constitution presupposed the existence of universal democratic values and principles to which every society adheres. It also underscores the fact that by her Constitution, Uganda is a democratic state committed to adherence to those principles and values. In Onyango Obbo’s case, the Court noted that any justification of a law imposing limitations on people’s guaranteed rights must pass the following test:

(a)    The legislative objective which the limitation is designed to promote must be sufficiently important to warrant overriding a fundamental right;

(b)   The measures designed to meet the objective must be rationally connected to it and not arbitrary, unfair or based on irrational considerations

(c)    The means used to impair the rights of freedom must be more than necessary to accomplish the objective

In the case of Muwanga Vs. Attorney General, the Court stated that the fundamental rights of freedom of expression, right to peaceful assembly, belief, opinion and religion when taken together, protect the rights of individuals not only to individually form and express opinions of whatever nature, but to establish associations of groups of like-minded people to foster and disseminate such opinions even when those opinions are controversial.

Court further noted that: ‘In every society there is always tension between those who desire to be free from annoyance and disorder on one hand, and those who believe to have the freedom to bring to the attention of their fellow citizens matters which they consider important. Peaceful assemblies and protests are a vital part of every democratic society. They can be a very powerful tool and some of the rights and freedoms that some countries enjoy today were gained because some people were prepared to go out on the streets and protest … a society, especially a democratic one, should be able to tolerate a good deal of annoyance or disorder so as to encourage the greatest possible freedom of expression, particularly political expression 

(There are examples of countries where protests have been used as a powerful tool, Egypt to mention but a few)

The Constitutional Court thereby ruled that the S. 32 (2) of the Police Act gave the IGP excessive powers which he may use as he wishes to curtail people’s rights and freedoms of conscience, speech, association and assembly, yet these rights are very necessary in a multi-party political system. Court found section 32(2) of the Police Act to be inconsistent with the Constitution and held it to be null and void. Therefore, since this matter was exhaustively discussed and concluded in the case of Muwanga Vs. the AG, government is now using a back-door approach, using sections 4 and 5 of the Bill to reintroduce legislation that was held to be unconstitutional. The annulled section 32 is revived in sections 4, 5 & 7 of the POM Bill. 

 This would infringe Article 92 of the Constitution which provides that Parliament shall not pass any law to alter the decision or judgment of any court as between the parties to the decision or judgment.

I am not writing this to cause any argument or discontentment, but am looking at the constitutionality of this bill if it’s finally passed into law. There will be many consequences to that cause. Are the citizens ready for this? Because it could pass.

What if it passes?  - Take or leave Opinions.

FY 2012/13 B UDGET SHOULD BE MORE STRATEGIC

THE FY 2012/13 B UDGET SHOULD BE MORE STRATEGIC 

Over the last twenty  five  years, Uganda’s  economy  has  registered  an average  growth  rate  of  about  6.5 percent  per  annum. Even during  the  current   period  of slow  recovery  in  the  global  economy  from  the financial crisis  which  started  around  FY 2008/09, our  economy  has  remained   resilient  registering  a 6.3perent   growth last  FY2010/11. While   the   economy  proved  resilient  to the  shocks of  the  2008  financial  crisis, this  resilience is now  being  tested  by  both domestic  developments  and  the  deterioration of  the international economic  environment.  Although the global economy will continue to suffer considering the ongoing   sovereign debt crisis in the Euro Zone. It’s  worth  noting  that the  IMF  has  substantially  reduced   its  2012  economic  growth    projection  for  Uganda  to  below  5.0 percent   in  the  financial year  2011/12 which should help Uganda  make strides   towards  speeding  up the  process  of  attaining  middle  income  status  in the  medium  term.

Since  last  year, economy  has  experienced a very  challenging  macroeconomic environment  arising from supply side  driven inflationary pressure ,exchange rate  volatility   and  the  impact  of  the  ongoing economic crisis in Euro Zone.  The  slowdown has  negatively  impacted  the  level of  capital and  financial flows  to Uganda  while  weakening  our  export  base, resulting  into weakening of  the  balance of  payment position. The  weak   Balance of Payment  stems  from deterioration in terms of  trade, reduced  export earning, lower  remittances  and  low  foreign direct  investment  and  portfolio  inflows. These factors have in turn combined with international investors  uncertainty to exert  pressure on the  exchange rate and  subsequently  domestic price levels.  

 The FY 2011/13  budget is coming at time when Uganda is going through economic hardships  like unacceptable high inflation rate, deprecating exchange  rate,  low and uncertain agricultural production  and  productivity ,infrastructural  constraints and  the  ongoing   economic slowdown  in the   major economies   especially  the  Euro zone  . There are already strong indications that the BOU’s policy of raising interest rates is starting to work. Annual headline inflation peaked in October last year and has been gradually falling since then. This progress is not simply attributable to the fall in food crop prices over the last two months; core inflation, which excludes food crops, has also fallen gradually since October. The growth in bank lending, which had been very rapid in the first nine months of 2011, and which was beginning to pose serious inflationary risks, has since begun to slow down; this is a direct result of policy of raising interest rates. 

This  therefore  requires  us  to  put  in  place  other  right  policies, institutions  and   address  the  major  impediments  to growth . we  must understand   that  economic  growth  is  only  one  aspect  of  development . Another   key  dimension  of  development   is  the  improvement   in the  administrative  capacity  of  the state  in order  to direct  the  course  of  development. It’s  now time  to focus   on those  interventions  that will quicken  the pace  of  development, overall transformation   of the economy   and  improved  welfare of  every  Ugandan. It’s  important  for  government  to focus  on  prudent  macroeconomic  management , including   consistent  monetary   and  fiscal policies  ,as  well as  stepping  up domestic  revenue  mobilization.  

 Government  should  also  consider re-balancing  of  budget  priorities  to put   the  county  on a sustainable  growth path to achieve a long  term  vision of  economic  action in a middle income  economy. The  budget strategy  for  the  FY 2012/13 should focus on  ensuring   macroeconomic  stability in particular  bringing  inflation  to acceptable  levels and  improving Uganda’s   external competiveness   with in the  overall framework of  the  National Development  Plan  .

Citizens need a budget that is more strategic and considers peoples priorities....

Any Vacancy in KCCA??... "Man Eateth where he Worketh"

Per New Vision 9th March 2011

The Ministry of Public Service has approved a new salary structure for Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), staff the New Vision online has learnt.

President Yoweri Museveni approved the salary structure in December last year, in which the lowest paid employee (tea girl) earns sh1.1m per month.  The public service ministry was tasked to prepare an administrative structure for the Authority.

Under the structure, Jennifer Musisi is entitled to a monthly salary of sh36m while the Lord Mayor bags sh16m.

The deputy executive director and other directors earn between shs22m, the deputy Lord Mayor sh11m; division mayors sh10.7m and their deputies shs8.2m.Division councilors are entitled to sh3.5m while district (LC5) councilors earn sh4.45m.

The release of the new administrative structure paves way for the recruitment of over 1,000 employees by KCCA.

KCCA spokesperson, Peter Kaujju said the Authority would roll out a programme to cater for employees who will opt to leave the institution. The Authority will, however, allow existing employees to reapply for the available positions.

"We have waited for that approval for a long time and the institution needs staff so that work can move," Kaujju said.

The orientation of staff to the new structure will take place on Friday at the City Hall Gardens.

In a memo from the KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi to KCCA staff dated March 7, she wrote: "This is to inform you that the Ministry of Public Service has approved the KCCA organization structure, staffing and salary structure."

" Man Eateth where he Worketh"

State House, Seriously??!!

State House needs more Shs 92Billion in funding Vs Nodding Disease

Media Reports indicate that the Ministry of Health is struggling to find Shs7 billion to help thousands of children stricken by the nodding disease which has claimed hundreds of lives in northern Uganda and shamelessly State House yesterday asked MPs to approve Shs92 billion in more funding for the Presidency.

“If it is true that Shs92 billion is going to State House when our people are suffering with nodding disease without any serious response, may God have mercy on us,” Mr Okumu said.

“To my colleagues in Parliament, if you approve this money the people of northern Uganda will never forgive you. It does not matter whether State House has already spent the money or not, this money shouldn’t be approved before getting money for the children who are suffering with the nodding disease,” he said.

Just five months ago, Parliament approved another additional Shs66.6 billion for State House. If approved, the State House budget will balloon to more than Shs158.6 billion— more than twice the 2011/12 Budget for Mulago National Referral Hospital. This money would meet the Shs75 billion required to answer teachers’ demands for a 100 per cent salary increment. - Daily Monitor!

Now am going to use my head hoping my emotions wontrule me!!!!

Honestly with the above developments, no tax payer would take this light. This is branding our superiors insensitive to the happenings around them. By the way dont be suprised if the House approves this mega budget.
Just out of curiosity, what is the statehouse spending on these amounts of money?? Hardly six months have elapsed and another supplementary is in the house for approval! Honestly what do you want the citizens to think?

This comes after the crazy amounts of MPs cars. Ugandas are dying in hospitals, roads are horrible, teachers need a salary increment, health workers are taking to the streets, schools are in bad shape, but state house is in need of a hefty 92 billion when people in the North are dying!! If you have seen pictures of children suffering from the nodding disease, u would feel sorry for them yet they need about 7bn.

SAD at how the Nodding Disease has been ignored!!!!!!!!!!!

What is happening to our leaders? have you forgotten the people you represent?
I will say this again, God save our nation!

My Opinion!!

God Save Our Nation

MPS RECEIVING 103 MILLION FOR THEIR CARS

Reports indicate that MPs have each started receiving Shs103 million as part of a generous car scheme which has been kept quiet for fear of provoking outrage at a time when poorly paid teachers and doctors have failed to win sensible concessions from the government.

With the current crisis in the country, people are poor, roads in bad shape, teachers crying for a salary increment so they can meet their needs, health workers striking due to poor pay make you wonder if the Members of Parliament receiving of 103Million shillings and keeping quiet are representing the people or their personal interests.

When we look at the high numbers of Members of parliament and the money given you feel for our country Uganda. Priorities have changed and the ordinary person ignored and left to rot in poverty. Over 275 MPs receiving 130Million shillings means the government will be spending over 28,325,000,000bn. If this money forexample is put in the road network or in the health centers we would have no more deaths of mothers giving birth and the roads would be easily accessible making transportation of goods to markets easy hence reduction in food prices and poverty levels.

With this kind of development one cannot help but think that MPs are being selfish and inconsiderate to the people they represent.

God Save Our nation

KCCA decisions Vs Planning

KCCA Decisions Vs Planning!

Kampala City Council Authority is the legal entity which is established by the Ugandan Parliament and is responsible for the operations of the capital city - Kampala. It should be noted that the affairs of  Kampala have been brought under the direct supervision of the central Ugandan government. The City Clerk, formerly the highest financial officer in the city was replaced by the Executive Director - Mrs Jeniffer Musisi, who is answerable to the Minister for Kampala Capital City Authority.

The city has faced several challenges like gabbage, potholes, over population, Traffic managemnet, etc. Recently KCCA made a decision to put gabbage containers all over the city to curb down the littering which decision was highly welcomed because we all need a clean city. This was made after it was discovered that the city generates an estimated 1,500 tonnes of garbage daily, but has capacity to pick up only 500 tonnes a day which has caused garbarge to accumulate in neighborhoods, on street corners and in local markets with resultant health risks and other environmental concerns.

This was a remarkable achievemnet to KCCA and especially to Jeniffer Musisi who everyones praises apart from the Lord Mayor and his following (Clear intentions) and all patriotic citizen should be in position to embrace this.
However, we cannot sit back and let KCCA have its way without pointing out the loopholes. It was stated that whoever is found littering will be arrested and taken to prison (Which in my opinion i think is not reasonable punishment). Some people fell victim and were picked up by hostile KCCA officials on their pickups after afew beatings.
To me being a good cause especially for our city there is need for proper sensitization and communication to the general public before they are manhandled and taken to away in sheer ignorance keeping in mind that what most people call common sense is not common to everyone.

And now the conflicting issue of city busses (by the way which will be here anytime from now) That only means that no matter what, they are here to stay and do business.
You will agree with me that the city is too crowded and hence the busses could solve this. However, the question goes to KCCA as to whether they analysed the situation carefully. There are so many taxis in the city and they have employed so many people which means many get their daily bread from this business. The question is, what happens to all those whose taxis will be put off the road? Any alternative by the council?
Much as i welcome this idea of having buses in the city i think there is need for proper planning of the council foe easy running of the city for the benefit of Wanainchi not increasing on the already existing level of unemployment.

As for the demolitions .............. thats a story for another day!

But credit is given where its due hence we say keep it up JM, but the welfare of the ordinary citizen is paramount..

Jennifer Musisi - ED KCCA

Take or Leave Opinions!!

Special attention to health workers needed...

Government should give special attention to the health workers  

Uganda is one of the ten countries globally which contribute the biggest proportion of the annual global figures on maternal, newborn and child mortality. Every day 16 women die in Uganda from pregnancy and child birth related causes. This translates 600 maternal deaths every year! In addition, 121 children under the age of one month die every day, which translates to 44,500 neonatal deaths annually. Furthermore the annual death of children under the age of five stands at 94,400. All these death are largely preventable with low cost high impact intervention. 

Health   is a key element of social and economic growth and its one of the major sectors that can directly impact on poverty eradication. Over the last four years, this sector has on average received over 9.6% of the total national budget, which is still far below the threshold of 15% agreed upon by African leaders in the Abuja declaration of 2001.

 We are concerned that Uganda’s health sector only covers 1/3 of what is needed to meet the minimum health package yet health remains an important perquisite for economic growth.  Out of the $28 per capita required to fully finance the minimum health care package only about US$ 10.4 is provided. This is far below the per capita health expenditure of US$34 for low income countries. More than 90% 0f Ugandans live in rural areas and these are the ones most affected by the weakened referral systems and equitable distribution of doctors. They are being cared for by less than 10% of Uganda’s   3600 or so available doctors –manpower.

Despite the national rage of policies and heavy investment in agriculture in rural areas, thousands of people continue to die needlessly. It’s therefore, not surprising that out of desperation many patients resort to seeking   health care from quack doctors such as faith healers, witchdoctors while others simply remain at home. 

 The acute shortage of  medical personnel has affected the performance  of clinical officers and nurses  in that  they have inevitably been called upon , from time to time , to assume tasks that are beyond  their competence  and which  would have been carried out by doctors , often which disastrous  consequences arise. The current consolidated  health workers facilitation allowance  of Ugsh 91,555  for  senior  levels  and  78,475 for junior  staff and the monthly  lunch allowance of UGX66,000 is  too meager to cover the basic amenities for which they were instituted .

 In regional referral hospitals where there are donor projects such as SUSTAIN that contribute to staff salaries, the health workers have stayed. This is proof that improved   pay leads to retention. Hospitals like mulago and butabika which are in Kampala find it easier to retain health workers due to more opportunities for supplementing low salaries like  participating in research ,consultancies and private practices .Overall 40% of the health workers in Uganda are working in private sector. In fact it’s estimated that 22% of these health workers are contracted by PNFP and 21% by the private sector. 

Government should come in and increase on recruitment of health workers to allow deployment, retention of medical personnel   as well as increasing their salaries. Increase the coverage of antenatal care from the current 42% to 70 %, provide basic emergency obstetric and newborn care at all health centers ,reduce the  unmet need for family planning services from the current 40% to 20% by increasing the number of service delivery points and access to commodities. 

By Adellah Agaba