National Planning Authority Act, 2002

Section Interpretation Section In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “ Authority ” means the National Planning Authority established by Article 125 of the Constitution ; “ Chairperson ” means the Chairperson of the Authority ; “ Deputy Chairperson ” means Deputy Chairperson of the Authority ; " Executive Director " means the Executive Director appointed under section 9 ; “ member ” means a member of the Authority ; “ Minister ” means the Minister responsible for national planning.

Section Authority to be body corporate Section The Authority shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue or be sued in its corporate name and may, subject to the provisions of this Act, do, enjoy or suffer anything that may be done, enjoyed or suffered by a body corporate.

Section Seal of Authority Section The seal shall be in such form as the Authority may determine and shall, subject to the provisions of any law, be applied in such circumstances as the Authority may determine.

Section Composition of Authority Section The Authority shall have the following bodies affiliated to it, and their heads shall be ex officio members of the Authority— A member of the Authority may be removed from office by the President only for— The authority shall consist of a Chairperson , a Deputy Chairperson and three other members appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament. A person to be appointed a member of the Authority shall have minimum qualifications of a masters degree with proven experience in the relevant field. the Uganda Bureau of Statistics; the Economic Policy Research Centre; the National Council for Science and Technology; the Population Secretariat; the Local Government Finance Commission; the body responsible for human resource development planning; the National Physical Planning Board; the Non-governmental Organisations Forum; the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce; the Uganda National Farmers Association; the National Agricultural Research Organisation; the Treasury; the National Environmental Management Authority ; the Uganda Manufacturers Association; and the Equal Opportunities Commission. The members of the Authority shall hold office...

Section Oath of member Section Every member of the Authority shall, before assuming his or her duties as a member , take and subscribe the oath specified in Schedule 1 to this Act.

Section Remuneration of members Section The members of the Authority shall be paid such sitting and other allowances as the Minister may, with the approval of Cabinet, determine.

Section Functions of Authority Section In pursuance of its primary planning functions, the Authority shall— In the performance of its functions, the Authority shall— The primary function of the Authority is to produce comprehensive and integrated development plans for the country, elaborated in terms of the perspective vision and the long-term and medium-term plans. coordinate and harmonise development planning in the country; monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of development programmes and the performance of the economy of Uganda; advise the President on policies and strategies for the development of Uganda; support local capacity development for national planning and in particular, provide support and guidance to the national and local bodies responsible for the decentralised planning process; study and publish independent assessments of key economic and social policy issues and options so as to increase public understanding and participation in the economic and social policy debate; liaise with the private sector and civil society in the evaluation of Government performance and identify and fill in gaps in Government policies and programmes; review high priority d...

Section Status of Authority Section The Authority shall be the national coordinating body of the decentralised planning system. The decentralised planning system shall be regulated by a statutory instrument issued by the Minister . The Minister shall, by statutory instrument, provide for submission of development plans to the Authority . A district planning committee shall initiate and prepare district development plans in the manner prescribed by the Authority . A Ministry or sector shall prepare a plan, and shall submit it to the Authority whose duty shall be to harmonise all the plans from various Ministries or sectors for the purpose of formulating a national plan. A plan formulated by the Authority shall be submitted to the Minister who shall cause it to be submitted to Parliament for approval and adoption.

Section Secretariat Section The Executive Director may be removed by the Minister on the recommendation of the Authority only for— In addition to any other functions that may be conferred upon him or her by any other law or by the Authority , the Executive Director shall— The Authority shall have a secretariat which shall be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Authority . The secretariat shall have such directorates as may be necessary to incorporate social, economic, special and community initiative dimensions of its planning functions. The secretariat shall be headed by the Executive Director who shall be appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the Authority . The Executive Director shall hold office for four years but shall be eligible for re-appointment. The terms and conditions of service of the Executive Director shall be determined by the Authority in consultation with the Minister . The Executive Director shall be a person with minimum qualifications of a masters degree with proven experience in management, planning and administration. inability to perform the functions of his or her office arising out of physical or mental incapacity; misbehaviour o...

Section Financial year Section The financial year of the Authority shall be the period of twelve months commencing on the 1st day of July and ending on the 30th day of June of the following year.

Section Funds of Authority Section All funds of the Authority shall be administered and controlled by the Executive Director who shall be the accounting officer in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act. All money required to defray all expenses that may be incurred in the discharge of the functions of the Authority or in the carrying out of the purposes of this Act, including the payment of allowances, salaries and pensions payable to or in respect of persons serving with the Authority , shall be submitted to Parliament for approval without alteration and when so approved shall be directly charged on the Consolidated Fund. The funds of the Authority may, with the prior approval of the Minister , include grants and donations from sources within or outside Uganda to enable the Authority to discharge its functions.

Section Accounts and audit Section The Authority shall maintain accounts of all its incomes and expenditure in a form approved by the Auditor General. The accounts of the Authority shall be audited by the Auditor General in accordance with Article 163 of the Constitution .

Section Meetings of Authority Section Schedule 2 to this Act shall apply to meetings of the Authority.

Section Authority to be independent Section The Authority shall not be directed by any authority or influenced by anybody while evaluating the performance of a Ministry or sector with regard to the targets set out in a plan.

Section Protection for members and staff of Authority Section A member or an employee of the Authority or any other person performing any function of the Authority under the direction of the Authority , shall not be personally liable to any civil proceedings for any act done in good faith in the performance of those functions.

Section Action for non-compliance Section Where a Ministry, department or district committee or person does not comply with the provisions of this Act, the Chairperson of the Authority shall, in writing inform the Minister , who shall in turn inform the President and the President shall take appropriate action in the matter.

Section Reports Section The Authority shall submit to the Minister an annual report of its activities containing such information as the Minister may direct. The Authority shall, as the Minister may direct, in addition to the report in subsection (1) , submit to the Minister reports on the performance of Ministries, sectors and local governments and their performance relevant to the implementation of the planning. The Minister shall, as soon as possible, after receiving the annual report of the Authority cause it to be laid before Parliament.

Section Regulations Section The Minister may, by statutory instrument, on the recommendation of the Authority or on his or her own initiative, make regulations for giving full effect to the provisions of this Act. For the avoidance of doubt, the Minister shall, by statutory instrument, on the recommendation of the Authority or on his or her own initiative, make regulations providing for procedures to be followed by the relevant bodies in the initiation of the planning process up to the final approval of the national plans by Parliament.

Section Statutory instrument to be laid before Parliament Section A statutory instrument made under this Act shall be laid before Parliament.