The Ministry of Agriculture has been given a one-month ultimatum to explain the powers under which it usurped legislative powers of Parliament to amend the NAADs Act to bring on board the army led operation Wealth Creation in agriculture management.
This was after it was discovered that the dissolution of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADs) to pave way for Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) was done through a cabinet decision, in total disregard of the NAADs Act.
In a meeting held yesterday at Parliament between MPs on the Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) and Joy Kabasti, State Minister of Animal Husbandry, the Committee ordered the Minister to table a statement to explain why cabinet usurped the powers of Parliament to illegally amend the NAADs Act.
“Your structuring is contrary to the NAADs Act irrespective of its merits, therefore illegal. If you do wish to restructure like it was done, you must come to Parliament. You are directed to make a statement in the House within 30 days,” COSASE Chairperson Abdu Katuntu ordered.
The officials of NAADs had appeared before the Committee to answer the 2013/2014 audit queries that highlighted that following the disbandment of NAADs, World Bank, which was financing agricultural extension services, withdrew funding in protest of the decision by cabinet.
However, Kabasti defended the decision that was taken to push NAADs out of agricultural services saying the entity was spending over three thirds of its budget on juicy salaries, while the rural farmers were being denied the advisory services.
Katuntu told off Kabatsi saying the extension services were killed by the Ministry of Agriculture and the officials only hijacked NAADs after noticing the huge chunks of funding coming to NAADs.
“To restructure an institution that was set up by an Act, you have to go back to the law. You don’t administratively restructure an institution. The reason we enacted this law is because there was a problem at the Ministry of Agriculture and now that there is little money and success, you grab it away yet there was a total collapse of extension services all over the country,” Katuntu said.
Legislators Michael Tusiime and Moses Kasibante questioned where the then Minister of Agriculture Tress Buchanayandi got the powers to have the Ministry take away NAADs’ mandate to offer extension services, yet the NAADs Act only gives the Minister powers to amend schedules in the Act.
It was also revealed during the meeting that dissolved NAADs, cabinet also took the decision to change NAADs mandate without seeking legal opinion from the Attorney General.
The Committee warned that the illegal involvement of UPDF in NAADs is likely to cause a constitutional crisis because Operation Wealth Creation isn’t an agent of either NAADs or Ministry of Agriculture and therefore can’t have a civil suit brought against it.
Opolot Okasi, Director Crop Resources later admitted that indeed the Ministry errored in rushing to implement cabinet decision and asked for more time to streamline the process.
By Stella Mugoya
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