Committees of Parliament 90. (1) Parliament shall appoint standing committees and other committees necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions.
(2) The following shall apply with respect to the composition of the committees of Parliament- (a) the members of standing committees shall be elected from among members of Parliament during the first session of Parliament; (b) the rules of procedure of Parliament shall prescribe the manner in which the members and chairpersons of the committees are to be elected (3) The functions of standing committees shall include following- (a) to discuss and make recommendations on all bills laid before Parliament; (b) to initiate any bill within their respective areas of competence; (c) to assess and evaluate activities of Government and other bodies; (d) to carry out relevant research in their respective fields; and (e) to report to Parliament on their functions. (4) In the exercise of their functions under this article, committees of Parliament- (a) may call any Minister or any person holding public office and private individuals to submit memoranda or appear before them to give evidence; (b) may co-opt any member of Parliament or employ qualified persons to assist them in the discharge of their functions; (c) shall have the powers of the High Court for- (i) enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath, affirmation or otherwise; (ii) compelling the production of documents; and (iii) issuing a commission or request to examine witnesses abroad. --------- Cabinet has introduced a Bill to amend Article 90 of the Constitution which partly contributed to the nullification of the Referendum (Political Systems) Act by the Constitutional Court last month. Felix Osike reports that the two-page Bill, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2004, was gazetted on July 2 and seeks to repeal and replace Article 90 which spells the functions of parliament committees. The Bill signed by justice minister Janat Mukwaya will be tabled in the House next week, sources said. Under the 1995 Constitution, only standing committees can handle Bills before they are debated in the plenary. If Article 90 is not amended, the House Rules committee, chaired by Ben Wacha, would consider and scrutunise the much-awaited Constitution Amendment Bill. The Bill is expected to introduce reforms including change of political system and the lifting of presidential term limits. But if the new Bill goes through, the sessional committee on legal affairs chaired by Jacob Oulanyah would take charge of the constitutional amendments. When the new parliamentary session started last month, Movement MPs rushed to control the legal affairs committee, thinking it would consider the upcoming amendments. The nullification of the Referendum Act brought a new twist. The Constitutional Court ruled that in passing the 2000 Referendum Act, Parliament committed a �fatal error� by failing to submit the Bill to a standing committee. The judges said although Makindye West MP Nsubuga Nsambu pointed out the mistake in the Sixth Parliament, the confusion continues and that could be dangerous. Standing committees, which have the power of as high court, serve for five years while sessional ones are appointed at the beginning of every session, which normally runs for a year. A Bill must go through a standing committee before it is passed. This is the second time the Government is introducing amendments to Article 90. The new Article 90 will read, �The committees of Parliament shall include, the committee of the whole House, standing committees, sessional committees, select committees, ad hoc committees and such other committees as may be necessary for the discharge of the functions of Parliament.� Bwanika ________ http://www.idr.co.ug http://p201.ezboard.com/fugandamanufacturersassociationfrm1 ----------------------------------------------------------- Spela poker mot verkliga m�nniskor �ver Internet. �ver 40 000 spelare online http://www.multipoker.com -------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
