Human rights defenders slam plan to merge govt agencies
A section of the Human Rights Defenders has criticised the government for the impending rationalization of over 30 government agencies that are aimed at cutting operation costs by at least Shs1 trillion.
Last week, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) caucus passed a unanimous resolution to support the rationalization of government agencies pending amendment of the relevant Bills by Parliament.
The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee has several constitutional amendment bills and other bills for consideration during the rationalization process among which include the move to merge Equal Opportunities Commission with the Uganda Human Rights Commission.
Speaking to KFM, the chairperson National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Uganda, Robert Kirenga said that agencies like Human Rights follow certain frameworks that should not be tampered with to ensure institutional credibility.
“The Human Rights Commission I’m afraid it’s going to have the international reputation affected because it may not meet the principals of autonomy and independence,” Kirenga said.
The Executive Director Foundation of Human Rights Initiative Dr Livingston Sewanyana, has also spoken out saying merging the two institutions will be a recipe for a human rights crisis as it will erode independence.
Yesterday the Legal & Parliamentary Affairs Committee halted the consideration of rationalization bills under its docket after MPs discovered that the certificate of financial implication issued by Ministry of Finance didn’t indicate the cost implication of abolishing or merging some agencies.
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