President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has declined to sign the Public Health Amendment Bill into law. The President wants Parliament to think again about a plan that would require the government to ask permission from local authorities before destroying infected materials during medical emergencies.
The president’s proposal was communicated by the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, during a plenary sitting on Tuesday. She said that the president objected to the bill after raising concerns about the definition of immunization and asking lawmakers to replace the word with vaccination.
In his letter read to MPs, Museveni also raised an objection to the framing of Section 14(1), where Parliament has proposed that the Ministry of Health seek the consent of the local governments before destroying infected materials. He said the proposal should be deleted because it would lead to an increase in the spread of deadly diseases.
The Public Health Amendment Bill 2021 was tabled before Parliament in October 2021, and it was intended to amend the Public Health Act of 1935. The bill seeks to address emerging public health threats, including new and emerging infectious diseases such as COVID (l9) and Ebola virus disease (EVD).
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Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the Kira Municipality Member of Parliament who raised concern over the numerous bills being returned by the President, wonders why the Ministers backtrack on positions reached by Parliament.
However, Speaker Among said the issue of returning bills can’t be solely blamed on the ministers but on lawmakers too. She cited the scenario of the Parliamentary Pension Amendment Bill, which was also recently returned for further improvement.
In his letter dated October 13, 2022, to the Speaker, President Museveni questioned why the bill presented to the Ministry of Finance for a report on financial implications proposed to have the government’s contribution raised from 30 to 40 percent.
So far, the Speaker has sent the two bills to the Committee on Health as well as the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee for reconsideration before Parliament takes a final decision on the matter.
The President also recently returned the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill, the Mining and Minerals Bill, and the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, among others, for reconsideration by Parliament.
