Patrick Nsamba Oshabe says splitting PAC Central will not clear its backlog without additional funding and staff, while Bbaale MP Charles Tebandeke wants Parliament to adopt more transparent voting procedures.
The Chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee for Central Government, Patrick Nsamba Oshabe, has opposed a proposal to split the committee into PAC One and PAC Two, arguing that inadequate funding and staffing are the main obstacles to clearing the backlog of accountability reports.
Nsamba made the submission before Parliament’s Rules, Privileges and Discipline Committee, chaired by Nakawa East MP Fred Ruhindi, which is considering proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure for the 12th Parliament.
The proposal seeks to divide PAC Central into two committees to help manage the growing backlog of accountability reports. However, Nsamba argued that splitting the committee without increasing its resources would not resolve the problem.
“Dividing PAC Central into PAC One and PAC Two will not solve the backlog. The real problem is inadequate facilitation. We need to handle many entities with limited resources. If you split without resources, you are just creating two weak committees,” Nsamba told the committee.
He called on Parliament to increase funding for accountability committees, recruit more technical staff and provide members with sufficient time to scrutinise reports from the Auditor General.
“What we need is increased resource allocation, more technical staff, more time to scrutinise reports from the Auditor General. That is how we shall clear the backlog, not by just splitting committees,” he added.
Nsamba also proposed reducing the membership of accountability committees, saying the large numbers did not necessarily translate into effective participation.
“We have 45 members on paper, but in actual sittings we struggle to raise quorum. Many members are inactive. I propose we reduce the number to 20 committed members who will be available to do the work,” he said.
He argued that smaller committees with committed members could improve attendance and efficiency, provided they were adequately facilitated to perform their oversight responsibilities.
Meanwhile, Bbaale County MP Charles Tebandeke called for reforms to Parliament’s voting procedures, questioning the reliability of voice voting, in which legislators indicate their positions by shouting “Aye” or “Nay”.
Tebandeke proposed that Parliament consider voting by standing or sitting and urged the House to adopt electronic voting to provide a clearer record of individual MPs’ positions on motions.
“The current method of shouting ‘Aye’ or ‘Nay’ does not reflect true democracy. Some members cannot shout, and the Speaker has no capacity to accurately determine the voice of MPs voting. It is subjective,” Tebandeke argued.
He cited court cases in which Parliament had, according to him, lost legal challenges linked to voting procedures, saying the House needed a system that could reliably establish how members voted.
“We have lost several cases in courts of law because the voting method could not be justified. Parliament must move with technology and adopt electronic voting where each member's position is recorded clearly. That is the true position of democracy,” he said.
The proposals come as Parliament reviews the rules that will govern its committees and proceedings in the 12th Parliament.
The deliberations could shape how accountability reports are scrutinised and how legislators register their positions on motions.