Tayebwa Urges MPs to Prioritise Climate Action, Disaster Prevention

What the report says

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has called on Members of Parliament to use their powers over laws, budgets, oversight and representation to push stronger climate action and reduce repeated disaster losses. According to Nile Post, he made the remarks on Tuesday while opening a two-day induction for members of the Parliamentary Committee on Climate Change and the Committee on Natural Resources at Mestil Hotel in Kampala.

Tayebwa said climate change should be treated as a practical governance issue, not just a topic for speeches and conferences. He argued that Parliament will be judged by whether it helps prevent future disasters, and warned that development spending can be undermined if climate risks are not built into public programmes. He pointed to recurring flooding along River Nyamwamba in Kasese and climate impacts in Ntoroko District as examples of problems that need long-term solutions rather than repeated emergency relief.

He also urged more attention to climate-smart agriculture, including drought-resistant seeds, agroforestry, soil protection and better-supported extension workers. He suggested linking some Parish Development Model funding to climate-resilient farming, while also promoting water harvesting, renewable energy in public institutions and solar power generation that could feed surplus electricity into the grid.

Tayebwa further pressed Parliament to strengthen oversight of forests and wetlands and to support better weather forecasting from the Uganda National Meteorological Authority. In broader context, the remarks reflect growing concern in Uganda and across the region about droughts, floods and land degradation affecting livelihoods, food security and public spending.