KAMPALA: Eng Hilary Onek, the Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, has threatened to resign if the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, does not stop usurping his roles.
In an October 29 letter addressed to Nabbanja and also copied to the President, and Speaker of Parliament, Eng Onek says her appointment, he has been observing “with total displeasure” the fact that my role and that of his deputy as the ministers in charge of refugees and disaster have been “totally usurped by your office.”
The department of refugees is under the Office of the Prime Minister.
“This is quite evident by the way you have been calling for meetings, going to disaster affected places and visiting refugee settlements without informing either my office or that of my deputy. To my shock, my staff who I supervise are the ones being called for the meetings and not us, the line ministers,” the letter also copied to the Deputy Speaker of Parliament reads in part.
He cited an October 29 2021 a meeting which Nabbanja held with local leadership of Bududa without involving his office or even the area Members of Parliament “which may lead to decisions being made that contradicts earlier and official cabinet position.”
“You have also purged the department of disaster management, taken over the distribution of relief items and causing interdiction of staff members without proper investigation. The interdicted staff were accused of causing a financial loss without conducting a forensic audit by involving office of the auditor general,” the letter adds.
According to Onek, the Premier On 5th October 2021, wrote to his office halting the settlement of refugees in Kyangwali over land ownership dispute, a decision that was arrived at without involving either him or his deputy or any technical staff from the department of refugees.
“There are several reports about the land in Kyangwali like the report by the late Gen. Julius Oketta that dates as far back as 2014, the Nakalema report and other reports from Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development that should have helped guide your decision. Undercutting the Ministry of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees and directly working with local government officials will lead to further contradictions and confusion,” Onek adds.
According to Onek, he has worked with the previous three Prime Ministers and he knows that their constitutional role is to coordinate legislative agenda, lead government business in parliament and monitor all ministries and government programs.
“They never got involved in the micro management of other ministries. If you decide to micromanage other ministries, what then is the role of the sector ministers who are supposed to plan, make policies and deliver on the manifesto of H.E the president?,” he states.
“Rt. Hon Prime minister if you have decided to carry on working like this and rendering my docket irrelevant, kindly put it in writing to H.E the President who is the appointing authority and I will relieve myself of my responsibilities and allow you carry on with your duties. I will NOT be held accountable for decisions that have been taken without my input,” he added.