By Our Reporter
NATIONAL
On Friday, 2nd February, 2024, the NRM Parliamentary Caucus met with His Excellency, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to discuss the rationalization of government Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) as earlier reported by this Website.
Cabinet on 22nd February, 2021 and under Minute Extract 43 (CT 2021); took a decision to merge, mainstream and rationalize Government Agencies, Commissions and Authorities; and rationalize public expenditure, to facilitate efficient and effective service delivery.
According to information reaching us, the NRM MPs unanimously resolved to support the President’s push to merge some government Agencies, Commissions and Authorities.
The NRM Parliamentary Caucus according Hon. Hamson Obua, Government Chief Whip and Chairperson NRM Parliamentary Caucus, resolved to support rationalization of government agencies and Public Expenditure.
The MPs thus resolved to do this through enacting legislation in parliament sector by sector.
The resolution followed President Museveni’s Key Note address on the importance of rationalization and a detailed presentation by the Ministry of Public Service, the implementing Ministry.
President Museveni informed the caucus members that if the government decides to carry out rationalization now, they will save Shs1 trillion a year.
“When we talk of rationalization, we are talking of first of all, doing things which are rational and save money.”
He added that during rationalization, the whole structure of the government should be geared to support the wealth creators, since they are vital in the development of the country.
“This issue of rationalization is a strategic one and the way to handle it is to start by asking the question which Adam Smith answered in 1776 when he wrote a book titled “The source of the wealth of nations”, the question is where does wealth come from? Because there’s no way any group of leaders will succeed if they do not answer that question. That is why you find a lot of chaos in so many parts of the world,” the President said.
“Wealth creation is the issue of enabling families and companies as well as individuals to produce goods and services and sell them and do so with “ekibaro”. Now who are these wealth creators? Number one, the commercial farmers, the second are the manufacturers, the third are the service providers and then ICT. So, what do this need? They need peace, the infrastructure (such as the roads, railways, electricity), they also need capital, skills and technical support.”
The President also advised the legislators that if they want to be successful politicians, they must help the people they serve to create wealth through sensitising them to embrace the four sectors of the economy.
