The National Planning Authority (NPA) has been urged to reassess its priorities in the forthcoming National Development Plan (NDP) IV to address concerns from various constituencies.
This call was made by Members of Parliament as they met officials from NPA led by the Executive Director, Dr Joseph Muvawala on Tuesday.
The Chairperson of the Budget Committee, Patrick Isiagi chaired the meeting that is reviewing the draft NDP IV.
West Budama County North MP, Maximus Ochai emphasised the need to re-strategise critical priorities.
He highlighted regional development programmes, particularly for communities in the Karamoja, Bukedi, and Busoga sub regions.
"I would want to propose that NPA goes back and reprioritises so that we focus only on the critical ones. This year, we should focus on the sub regions that are mostly left behind. How I wish NPA could scale them down and address the very poor ones," Ochai said.
He also proposed including measures to strengthen NPA's capacity for perspective planning under the development plan implementation programme. This, he suggested, would complement ongoing efforts to enhance planning units across government institutions.
Pian County MP, Remigio Achia similarly pointed out that several parts of the country have been consistently excluded from national development plans. He called for equity in planning to ensure all regions are represented.
"How do you pick more roads for the NDP from one region than another? A question of equity was raised, but this NDP document does not address it. For example, under human capital development, you see universities in Soroti, Kabale, MUBS, Mbarara, and Makerere given funding, but since 2015, Mt Moroto University remains at the foundation level," Achia said.
He emphasised that Mt Moroto University is strategically important and should offer courses on minerals, water management, and livestock, which are vital for the region's development.
Gomba District Woman Representative, Hon. Sylvia Nayebale reiterated the need for equity and regional balance. She argued that Uganda is losing tourism opportunities due to a lack of direct flights to certain regions, forcing tourists to rely on roads.
"As a result, tourists fly from Rwanda to Kisoro and drive to various attractions in Uganda, yet they could have used domestic flights. We need regional airports to support tourism," she said.
Meanwhile, political parties have been urged to align their manifestos with NDP IV, which is currently under parliamentary review.
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The Minister of State for Finance ( Planning), Amos Lugoloobi made this appeal after Bunya South MP, Idi Isabirye raised concerns about projects appearing in political party manifestos that are absent from the NDP.
Lugoloobi said that a mid-term review of the plan is scheduled, allowing for the inclusion of issues from the winning party's manifesto.
Isiagi proposed that a review of the NDP should be after one year instead of the proposed two and a half years.
However, Lugoloobi rejected the suggestion, stating that policy requires the review to occur after two and a half years.
