Tayebwa Bans Committee Sittings During Plenary

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has directed parliamentary committees to stop sitting during plenary and ordered MPs and ministers to attend afternoon plenary sessions, saying parallel sittings are undermining accountability and parliamentary business.

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has directed all parliamentary committees to stop conducting business whenever plenary is sitting, ordering MPs and ministers to attend afternoon plenary sessions as part of measures to improve attendance and discipline in the House.

Chairing Thursday's plenary sitting, Tayebwa said parliamentary committees should conduct their business in the morning, leaving afternoons exclusively for plenary.

“With immediate effect, no committee will sit when we are in plenary. Mornings are for committees, afternoons are for plenary. And I expect all Hon. Members and Hon. Ministers to be here,” Tayebwa ruled.

The directive followed concerns raised by legislators over the continued absence of ministers from plenary, with some reportedly telling the Clerk's office that they were attending committee meetings scheduled at the same time.

MPs said the practice was undermining Parliament's oversight role because questions directed at ministers and other government business were sometimes left unattended when the relevant officials were absent.

Tayebwa said ministers should prioritise plenary during afternoon sittings because it is the main forum where government is subjected to parliamentary scrutiny and public policy decisions are debated.

“If you are a Minister, your primary place in the afternoon is here in plenary. Committees can and should plan their work in the morning. We are not going to continue with a situation where we sit with an almost empty House because people are in committees,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker said the practice of holding committee meetings concurrently with plenary was affecting Parliament's productivity and public image, particularly when MPs and ministers were absent from the chamber during important debates.

He directed the Clerk to Parliament and committee chairpersons to revise their schedules to ensure that committee business does not overlap with plenary.

Tayebwa further warned that proceedings of any committee found sitting while plenary is in session would be nullified.

Several MPs welcomed the directive, saying separating committee and plenary schedules would help Parliament give adequate attention to government business, questions to ministers and private members' motions.

Under the new arrangement, committees will conduct their sittings in the morning, while plenary will take precedence in the afternoon.

Parliament is expected to begin implementing the revised schedule next week.