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The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional\r\nAffairs with support from the Justice, Law and Order Sector on Friday September\r\n27, 2013 conducted a sensitization workshop on management of government\r\ncontracts and legal proceedings for local governments in Eastern Uganda. The\r\nworkshop, that was held at Protea Hotel attracted over 150 local government\r\nofficials from the districts of Mbale, Iganga, Soroti, Kumi, Tororo, Bukedea,\r\nNamutumba, Kapchorwa, Jinja, Moroto, Kamuli, Butaleja, Sironko, Amuria\r\namong others. The workshop was organized to sensitize local governments on the role of the Attorney General in\r\nthe procurement process and other Government commitments by MDAs and local\r\ngovernments.
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The Solicitor General in his remarks\r\ndelivered by Ms Ketra Katunguka (Commissioner, Directorate of Legal Advisory\r\nServices) said that government procurement is highly regulated by both domestic\r\nprocurement law and internationally accepted procurement guidelines and must\r\ntherefore be conducted in a manner which promotes transparency, accountability\r\nand fairness. This calls for government procurement to maximise competition and\r\nachieve value for money - principles the Attorney General’s office must\r\nadhere to when exercising its constitutionally mandated functions.
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The Attorney General, who was represented by\r\nthe Director of Civil Litigation Mr. Cheborion Barishaki said that a\r\nsignificant number of legal proceedings against government today are as a\r\nresult of the mismanagement of contracts and/or failure to honor contractual\r\nobligations. He added that the Ministry of justice and Constitutional Affairs\r\nthought it necessary to hold this workshop to sensitize the key stakeholders in\r\nEastern Uganda on the management of contracts and compliance with contractual\r\nobligations to improve on contract administration.
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During the workshop, presentations were made\r\non the functions of the Directorate of Legal Advisory Services, which advises.\r\nPresentations were also made by the Directorate of Civil Litigation, on its\r\nrole when court disputes arise between Government and a provider. The Deputy\r\nInspector General of Government, Mr. George Bamugemereire presented a paper on\r\nintegrity in the government procurement process where he underlined the urgent\r\nneed for transparency and accountability at all levels. Hon. Justice Henry\r\nKawesa from the Mbale High Court discussed case flow management in JLOS\r\ninstitutions focusing on the process through which a case passes from\r\ncommencement to completion. Justice Kawesa emphasized the need to strengthen\r\nthe 3Cs of Communication, Cooperation and Coordination as a basis for good case\r\nmanagement in the Justice, Law and Order Sector.
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Participants at the workshop warmly welcomed\r\nthe interaction with the Attorney General’s chambers on contracts management as\r\na step in the right direction on the path toward better service delivery in\r\nlocal government procurement processes. During the plenary discussions,\r\nparticipants raised a number of issues. These included the matter of low staff\r\nin the Attorney General’s chambers to effectively serve all the local\r\ngovernments across the country, the stringent public procurement laws, issues\r\nof contract financing (in the context of budget cuts when contracts have\r\nalready been signed) and low remuneration of public officers as the root cause\r\nof corrupt tendencies.
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On the matter of low staffing of the Attorney\r\nGeneral’s chambers, the participants were informed of the ongoing efforts to\r\nrecruit more state attorneys by the Ministry of Public\r\nService. Relatedly, regional offices for the Ministry of Justice and\r\nConstitutional Affairs were being set up in various parts of the country to\r\nbring government legal services closer to the beneficiaries. The issue of\r\nstringent public procurement laws was\r\nput into the context of the need to ensure transparency and fairness. However,\r\nit was also explained that there is a legal provision for local governments to\r\npropose amendments to these regulations were deemed necessary. Much as\r\ngovernment is currently addressing the challenge of staff remuneration, it was\r\nemphasized that integrity in the contractual process is of paramount importance\r\nif institutions are to achieve their goals and objectives
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The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional\r\nAffairs has, since last year (2012), carried out these sensitization workshops\r\nmainly as a result of Government increasingly losing cases in courts of law. In\r\nmost scenarios, these losses are a result of government officials not adhering\r\nto and maintaining the consultative process with the Attorney General’s\r\nchambers on Constitutional matters, especially on interpretation and contract\r\nnegotiation. The interaction between officials from the Attorney General’s\r\nchambers is therefore viewed as a feasible step in tackling these gaps in\r\nservice delivery saving the tax payer lots of money as well as streamlining\r\nservice delivery.
Source: JLOS Website
Posted 2nd, October 2013
