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By J. Senyonjo Federal
(Central) Government Responsibilities - General Principles Federal (Central) Government Responsibilities - General Principles 1- The Federal government specifically the Central Bank, with
some input from the Ministry of Finance (Secretary of Treasury in the United
States) should be in charge of administering Federal Fiscal and Monetary policy. 2- The Central Bank will be in charge of setting banking
rules, setting lending policies, reserve requirements, and overall supervision
of the Banks throughout the country and in all the states. 3-The federal government under the leadership of the President
will be responsible for the overall health of the nation's economy through
Fiscal and Monetary policy (including articulation of Federal taxation and
spending levels) Trade regulation, negotiation of treaties with foreign
countries etc.. 4- A directly elected President as the Chief Executive Officer
of the country will set the overall national economic agenda in accordance with
his promises to the people that elected him and will use his political skills to
see that his or her agenda is approved and implemented by Parliament. 5- The Parliament's role will be to debate national economic
policies, approve or amend them, introduce new bills (to be signed by the
President) and review the budget (spending allocations) and authorize disbursing
of funds to the states. The President may veto the parliament, but a two-thirds
majority in parliament can overcome his veto. 6- The different national ministries (departments in the
United States) will be responsible for administering and implementing policies
and national priorities on behalf of the Federal government. The ministries will
set minimum national standards and guidelines which all states will be required
to meet. Otherwise, the ministries will not have the power to overturn state
policies. 7- The Central government will be responsible for ensuring
that gross disparities among states are addressed through grants and technical
assistance to the affected states. 8- The Attorney General will ensure that Federal laws are
enforced uniformly throughout the nation. The Attorney General and the national
investigative police agency such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations will be
in charge of investigating corruption and other abuse of office at state and
local level (to circumvent any influence that corrupt local officials may have
on the local police and other local officials). These two institutions will play
the same role at the Federal level. The trial of culprits will be conducted at
the local level by state courts, or local federal courts. 9- The Federal government and parliament must ensure that federal parliamentary representation is fair and representative of the populations of the different states. 10- The Federal government role will be mainly of
coordination, setting national standards, investing through state grants in such
national priorities such as interstate infrastructure, science, technology,
education and vocational training (within the states, state governments will be
play the major role, the federal government will supplement their efforts). 11- The Supreme court will be the final arbiter of legal
disputes in the land, but no case will go the Supreme Court until it has been
reviewed and litigated upon by the lower courts. However, the Supreme court, or
other federal courts may hear national constitutional issues or cases against
the Federal government that do not lie in the jurisdiction of state courts. Cases against the state or local governments will be heard in state and local courts first. 12- The Federal government will be in charge of the Postal system and its rates. State
and local Responsibilities - General Principles Federal, state and local responsibilities will follow the
German Constitutional principle: "Everything capable of being done by the smaller
community should not be done by the
larger." This means that state level like the federal level will act in the
same role in as much as possible to lower local levels as the Federal government
to the state level. 1- The state will set statewide economic priorities and
policies, raise statewide funds and redistribute them to local governments such
as districts and cities to implement development initiatives such as building
roads etc. The state will ensure that disparities in basic infrastructure
statewide are addressed. The state will be responsible for inter-district
infrastructure and will set statewide economy, education, and development
standards. 2- State and local government will be in charge of in state
Public transportation systems and their maintenance. And will set toll rates.
The federal government will partner will supplement state public transportation
budgets where necessary. 3- The state and local government will have Financial
controllers (Chief Financial Officers) who will be responsible for public
accounts. All transfers of resources to the lower levels of government will be
accounted for and checked against the state or local government's revenue and
budgetary allocations. The Controllers (and the state assemblies) will be
responsible for ensuring that the procurement systems are transparent. (The
Minister of Finance and the Justice department (under the Attorney General) will
be responsible for this role at the Federal level. 4- Overall state elected officials and governments will be
responsible for designing policies that ensure the economic vitality of their
states. They will be in charge (with the help of the federal government if
necessary) of setting up industries such as tourism, seeking investors to
exploit their natural resources, educating their people, and generally promoting
their states through conducive policies. 5- The state's top elected official, the governor (or whatever
name he shall be called) will be responsible for the state's overall economic
health and policies. The state assemblies will review the governor's proposals,
pass bills or veto them and vice versa. The
state's MPs will be responsible for articulating the needs of their
localities (counties in the state assembly and ensuring that they are addressed.
The local elected officials will ultimately be in charge of project
implementation and realization. There shall be no overdue dependency on the
central government. 6- State and local governments will have the ability to raise
taxes for which accountability will be strictly required. 7- The state and local governments will have the power to hire
and fire their officials without interference from the central government. 8- The states and local governments will have the freedom to hire personnel for their local administration from any part of Uganda, or any other state. Proposed
Federal Constitutional Provisions Federal Government shall have Jurisdiction over: 1. National defense *Concurrent taxes are those that will be raised by both the
federal and State governments States shall have Jurisdiction over: 1. Education * The Federal (central) government shall set national
standards for social services, Health, welfare and the environment, but the
states will be responsible for implementation. The government shall provide
grants and technical assistance, where necessary, to enable the states to
maintain or to meet national objectives for key services. Uniform level of
Social Services The federal government shall, ensure through spending and
legislation that the level of Social Services for the poor including healthcare,
welfare and unemployment benefits is uniform in all the states. Social Services shall be equalized to take into account
incomes and the costs of living in the various states. 1. Personal Income (concurrent) In order to engender trust between the Federal government and State economic relations: All state and district budgets, allocations and expenditures
shall be published and made available to the public for examination. The state
departments and governments shall be subject to State and Federal Audits at
least once a year: one federal and one state. State governors shall address state residents once at the
beginning of each year to highlight the past years achievements, explain
failures and challenges, and point to the next year priorities. The State Controllers shall be independent elected officials
who shall be in charge of state budgets, auditing state accounts and explaining
the allocation and use of state revenues. The State Controllers shall read State
budgets to the legislature and the media once a year, and shall give a monthly
account of the state’s financial condition to a finance committee within the
state legislature and to the governor. The federal government
shall have its own accountability mechanisms, which we should address when we
address the Presidency, National Legislature and the Judiciary. State Officials shall strictly adhere to Conflict of Interest
regulations as determined by both the National and State legislature, and shall
be subject to censure and removal from office for violating them. The
Independence of State Elected Officials The states’ governors and other elected officials shall be
answerable only to the electorate or the legislatures of their states. Only the
states’ electorates through elections, or the legislature through impeachment,
can remove or censure a state’s governor. State Appointees
and Bureaucrats All state bureaucrats, appointees, and state civil service
employees shall be answerable only to the states’ elected officials, even
though they may collaborate with federal bureaucrats in the implementation of
federal objectives. The State and
Local Police forces The state and local police forces shall be recruited locally
and shall be answerable only to elected state officials, even though they may
collaborate with the National police and other states’ police forces in
apprehending or investigating crime. Federal
Law enforcement and Interstate Crime The Attorney General shall ensure that Federal laws are
enforced uniformly throughout the nation. The Attorney General and a National
Police agency such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation may in special cases
investigate crimes that have national implications, even when they fall under
state jurisdiction. The national police agency shall in coordination with state
police departments, or state elected officials investigate interstate crime,
track and apprehend criminals. The Federal Supreme Court shall be the final arbiter of legal
disputes in the land. However, the State courts shall operate independently of
the federal Supreme Court, and other federal courts. The state legislatures may make and pass state laws in
accordance with state values and experience as long as the said laws are not in
conflict with the National Constitution and fundamental Human Rights. A state court shall interpret laws and decide cases on the
basis of the National constitution, the state constitution, and other state laws
and statutes. Conflicts between states
(part of Article III, U.S. Constitution) The Supreme Court, or Federal courts shall, where necessary,
adjudicate on controversies between two or more states;--between a state and
citizens of another state;--between citizens of different states;--between
citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states, and
between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or
subjects. Trial of Crimes (part
of Article III, U.S. Constitution) The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall
be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes
shall have been committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial
shall be at such place or places as the national legislature may by law have
directed. Unspecified Powers
(borrowed from the X amendment, U.S. Constitution) Powers not delegated to the Federal government (Central
government) by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are
reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. Relationships between States (parts borrowed from Article IV,
U.S. Constitution) Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state
to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And
the national legislature may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such
acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. Section 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime. No new states shall be formed or erected within the
jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two
or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of
the states concerned as well as of the Congress. The Federal government shall protect each state against
invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the
legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. There shall be state militias which shall complement the
national army in time of war. There shall be no other militias at the Federal or
local level outside of the ones officially established by the state
legislatures. Each State shall have only one militia. The state militias shall be professional and shall report to
both the Federal and State governments. There shall be a bureau in charge of administering state
militias’ affairs at the federal level. This bureau shall be in charge of
procuring state militias’ military equipment, as approved by the National
legislature. The States shall select the officers of the state militias
while the professional standards of state militia officers, the size of the
militia forces, and the nature of their weapons shall be determined by the Joint
Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Marines and the Air force, subject to approval of
the National legislature. The officers appointed by the states shall be responsible for
recruiting state citizens into the militias. National army officers shall supervise training of the state
militias. Oath to protect
the Constitution All key elected Federal, State and local government officials,
judges and justices must take an oath to support and uphold the Federal
constitution of Uganda. States
role in the Amendment of the National Constitution, (Article V, U.S.
Constitution) The Congress (National legislature), whenever two thirds of
both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this
Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the
several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in
either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this
Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several
states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode
of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment
which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall
in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the
first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its
equal suffrage in the Senate. Disparities
or economic Imbalances among States The Federal government shall ensure that economic disparities
among states are bridged to ensure minimum national living standards through
equalization formulas that shall be determined by congress in consultation with
the Central Bank. Equalization transfers to the qualifying states shall be
unconditional; the qualifying states shall use them for their priorities as
determined by their legislatures. The National legislature shall use grants and any other
instruments as may be established by law to assist states to provide services,
or to effect National objectives and standards. The State legislatures and administrators shall be responsible
for implementing Federal policies and objectives, in consultation with national
ministries or agencies. A State, through its legislature, may opt out of a federal
grant program provided it meets the minimum national standard of the objective
of the grant, or shows a clear plan and timetable of achieving the same without
federal aid. The National legislature’s power to initiate cost-sharing
programs involving conditional grants in areas within states’ jurisdiction
shall require both a broad national consensus and per capita reimbursement by
the federal government of the people (not the government) of a state whose
legislature decides not to participate. 1-There shall be an independent non-partisan board within the
National Treasury, or Exchequer, comprising of financial and economic experts
with life tenure, which shall report to the National legislature regarding
Federal and State economic relations. The President shall appoint its members,
who will serve only after their approval by the National legislature. The Exchequer board’s duties shall include: a) Examining state economic imbalances, and recommending adjustments to national equalization formulas to take into account changing realities b)
Examining the impact of federal spending policies on states, with a view
of maintaining fairness and economic competitiveness of the states. 2-The board shall be an advisory body only, with no
implementation powers. Its recommendations shall be debated by the National
legislature. The legislature shall then vote to adopt, alter, or reject the
board’s recommendations. 3- The Exchequer board shall consult with elected state
officials before making recommendations to the National legislature. The governors of all the states in the federation shall
constitute among themselves an association that shall present states’ concerns
to the Exchequer board. States’
Political Representation at the Federal level The National Assembly shall have two chambers: 1-The House of Representatives where the States shall be
represented in proportion to their populations 2- The Senate where two senators will represent each state. |
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