In a bid to strengthen institutional capacity for legislation, oversight and representation, Parliament will start an e-Parliament project.
This is contained in Parliament’s Strategic Plan for the financial years, 2025/2026-2029/2030 that was launched at Parliament on Friday, 26 September 2025.
The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among in her speech delivered for her by the Zombo District Woman Representative, Hon. Esther Afoyochan, said that the Parliamentary Commission will support the implementation of the plan through an enabling legal and policy framework and mechanisms for transformation such as digitisation and digitalisation of processes, among others.
“Together, let us build a Parliament that is people-centred, efficient, innovative, and accountable; a Parliament that truly reflects the aspirations of Ugandans today and for generations to come,” said Among.
She said that the plan will strengthen the independence and effectiveness of Parliament, improve the quality of legislation, deepen oversight of public resources, enhance citizen participation and promote transparency and accountability in governance.
Parliament’s Director of Corporate Planning and Strategy, Racheal Emaasit said that the e-Parliament project will entail investment in modern information technology and staff, and robust cyber security protocols.
According to the Strategic Plan, Parliament systems will be automated and contingency plans established, in case of infrastructure failures.
Emaasit added that Parliament will establish a secretariat responsible for streamlining the tracking of the institution’s contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Emaasit said that the SDG Secretariat will ensure that there is a mechanism in place to track and report implementation of SDGs.
“In order to streamline the tracking of Parliament’s contribution to the SDGs, it is paramount to put in place a dedicated SDGs Secretariat and a mechanism of tracking and reporting the implementation of SDGs by Parliament,” she said.
She added that it is aligned to the National Development Plan IV (NDP IV) with the overall goal of becoming a people centred Parliament.
“We want to strengthen citizen participation in our processes, strengthen the capacity of Parliament to scrutinise and approve budgets and develop physical infrastructure,” she said.
By so doing, Emaasit said that Parliament will improve the legislative process from 62 per cent to 85 per cent, improve budget alignment to NDP IV from 71.4 per cent to 90 per cent and improve responsiveness of Parliament to the needs of the citizenry from 57 per cent to 75 per cent.
The Clerk to Parliament, Hon. Adolf Mwesige made a reassurance that Parliament’s Strategic Plan is responsive to the guidelines of NDP IV.
“We have a shared commitment to strengthening the capacity, performance and relevance of Parliament in delivering its constitutional mandate,” said Mwesige.
The Deputy Executive Director of the National Planning Authority, Charles Oleny said that the planning body expects Parliament’s Strategic Plan to deliver tangible results that are effective, timely and development-oriented legislation.
“Parliament should adopt Information Communication Technology, enhanced research capacity and a professional well-resourced Parliamentary Service to ensure institutional efficiency and digitisation,” said Oleny.
He added that parliamentary committees ought to deepen scrutiny of public expenditure and government performance guided by data, facts and fairness, as well as ensure inclusive and citizen centered representation.
“This therefore, ensures that the voices of all Ugandans, especially, women, youth and the marginalised groups are heard and acted upon,” Oleny said.
The Deputy Head of Public Service, Mary Wanene, who represented the Head of Public Service, Lucy Nakyobe said that the Ministry of Public Service will collaborate with Parliament to ensure that the national development agenda is efficiently and effectively implemented.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
