Delays by the attorney general to ratify bylaws passed by Kabarole district council, is affecting their implementation. Kabalore district council has passed several bylaws and taken them to the attorney general for ratification. The only bylaw that was ratified by the Attorney General was the Production ordinance that was passed by the district council in 2009.
Last year, the district council passed the sanitation and hygiene ordinance which requires every household to have a pit latrine. However since then the bylaw has never been ratified leaving local leaders stranded on its implementation. When Uganda Radio Network visited some homes in Karambi Sub County, and Rwengoma Parish in Fort Portal municipality, they lacked sanitation facilities.
Bernard Alinganyira, Karambi sub county secretary for health says that they are aware of the lack of toilets in some homes but they can’t punish the culprits because there is no law. Alinganyira says that the communities are taking advantage of the absence of laws and are not bothered of the poor sanitation and hygiene practices.
He says that since they can’t be punished, the local authorities are instead sensitizing the communities on the need to have toilets but some households have failed to heed to the advice. Alinganyira says he is positive that once the bylaws are enforced effectively, the sanitary conditions in the sub county will improve.
The delay to ratify is also hindering the fight to regulate the operations of bars in Fort Portal municipality. In February, the municipal council passed an ordinance that requires all the bars to open at 4:00p.m and close at 11:00p.m. However currently, some bars open as early as 10:00a.m and close at 3:00a.m.
Security personnel in the district attribute the high rate of crime in the municipality to the failure to control the movement of residents in the night. Michael Obong, a legal officer in the office of the Attorney General says that some ordinances take long to be ratified because the office receives ordinances from different districts and municipal councils in the country.
He also says that some local governments propose harsh punishments to offenders and so the Attorney General’s office is forced to return the bylaw to the local government for amendments.
