Buyaga West County Member of Parliament Denis Namara has expressed disappointment with the Ministry of Finance over its failure to issue a Certificate of Financial Implications for his proposed Administration of Parliament Amendment Bill, 2026.

Namara presented the proposed legislation for its first reading in Parliament despite the absence of the certificate, a requirement for private members’ bills under the Public Finance Management Act.

While presenting the bill, the legislator questioned the delay by the Ministry of Finance in issuing the required certificate, raising concerns over the difficulties he had encountered in securing the document.

Following his submission, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oboth Oboth asked Namara to explain the steps he had taken to obtain the certificate.

In response, Namara told Parliament that he had made several attempts to secure the document but had not received a positive response from the ministry.

The Speaker subsequently referred the bill to the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for consideration, although it was not cleared to proceed to the second reading.

However, the decision attracted objections from the Member of Parliament representing Older Persons in the Central Region, James Kakooza, who argued that the proposed legislation could not advance to another stage without a Certificate of Financial Implications.

The Administration of Parliament Amendment Bill, 2026, seeks to change the process of selecting the Leader of the Opposition by allowing all Members of Parliament, including opposition legislators and independent MPs, to participate in electing the office bearer.

Under the proposed changes, the responsibility of selecting the Leader of the Opposition would no longer be left exclusively to the opposition party with the highest number of seats in Parliament, but would instead involve a vote by the entire House.

End