Derrick Ampereza
A group of parish councilors from Nyakyishenyi Sub County in Rukungiri district boycotted a budget conference held on Tuesday, alleging that the Sub County Chief, Wilberforce Kansiime, had not included key leaders on the agenda.
These councilors claimed that Wilberforce Kansiime failed to notify all the individuals who were supposed to attend the budget conference through proper channels. They noted that even parish chiefs, who were expected to discuss important issues affecting their parishes, were absent from the conference, with the exception of one from Katonya parish out of the nine parishes in their sub county.
Moreover, many of the invited guests, including opinion leaders, religious leaders, heads of institutions, technical staff, and departmental heads, did not show up at the conference. This left the attending councilors concerned, especially as their topics of interest were nowhere on the agenda.
The budget conference was originally scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., but due to misinformation, it started at 12:00 pm. Shortly after the conference commenced, another group of attendees left, causing distress among the members of the sub-county executive, led by Sub-County Chairperson Wednesday Twinomujuni and the Sub-County Chief.
Councilors like Victor Byamugisha of Kahoko parish, Evelyne Turyazooka and Benephance Tumwesigye of Murama parish, and Christopher Twinomugisha of Bikongozo parish expressed their dissatisfaction, emphasizing that no consultations had taken place with the parish councilors to establish their priorities for presentation at the budget conference. This lack of communication led them to boycott the meeting.
They also pointed out that the absence of their eight parish chiefs at the conference indicated their inactivity, along with their immediate supervisor, the Sub County Chief, who failed to inform the necessary parties in a timely manner.
Lovence Asiimwe, the Nyakyishenyi Sub County Speaker, confirmed that both she and the councilors boycotted the budget conference because they were not included on the agenda. When they tried to contact the accused Sub County Chief, Mr. Wilberforce Kansiime, he declined to answer their repeated calls.
Now, the councilors and the Sub County Speaker are demanding that the Sub County Chief organize a new budget conference for Nyakyishenyi Sub County in accordance with local government laws.
They insist that all responsible parties, including opinion leaders and non-government organizations operating in Nyakishenyi, should be called to attend, as has been the practice in previous conferences.
