The Minister of Local Government has issued a raft of directives, including open access for media to local council sittings, restricting the sale of alcohol to children, time of opening bars, betting, display of approved budgets on council boards, and a ban on early morning alcohol consumption.
Minister Balaam Barugahara, in an August 10, 2026 letter to all LC5 chairpersons, city mayors, division mayors and council speakers, said the provisions would take immediate effect.
He warned that violating the directives would attract punitive actions.
In some local governments, when the councils are discussing controversial issues, the media would be ordered out, and such sittings held behind closed doors.
But Mr Barugahara said the practice must end and journalists should be allowed access to all council sittings.
“All councils should allow members of the press access to council sittings, just as Parliament allows media access to its proceedings. This is intended to promote transparency, accountability and public awareness, enabling citizens to follow debates, decisions and the conduct of public business in their respective local governments,” he said.
Mr Barugahara also directed all the local councils to ensure all approved council budgets are accessed by the public and should be displayed on official council public notices, which he said would help the voters know how funds are being spent.
“All local governments shall display their approved budgets on the main council notice boards and other accessible public notice boards. This will enable members of the public to know what has been budgeted for their respective areas and follow up on the implementation of projects and services, thereby promoting people-led audits, transparency and accountability,” the minister said.
Control on alcohol consumption
Mr Barugahara also ordered that no alcohol should be served to children under 18 years, and that no bar should open before 3pm during working days. He also imposed a ban on early morning alcohol consumption, which he said must be enforced by all the local governments.
“Bar owners, shop owners and operators of malwa joints or other alcohol-selling establishments who sell or supply alcohol to persons under 18 years should be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law. Local authorities and security agencies should strictly enforce this requirement, and establishments found violating the law should face appropriate sanctions,” he said.
Mr Barugahara added: “Bars, malwa joints and other alcohol-selling establishments should not open before 3pm on working days, subject to applicable national laws, licensing requirements and lawful local government regulations.”
He directed that bars and alcohol outlets that repeatedly defy lawful operating-hour directives should be closed and appropriate action taken against persistent offenders.
The minister also directed local governments to regulate the operating hours of betting companies within their respective jurisdictions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations so as to protect communities, particularly the young people, from harmful practices associated with excessive betting.
While the Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) said the directives are timely, its leader also cited a lack of a legal framework in implementing some of the directives.
Hurdles
In 2023, then Tororo District Woman MP Sarah Opendi introduced the Alcohol Control Bill, which sought to regulate the manufacture, importation, sale, consumption and advertisement of alcoholic drinks; prohibit the sale of alcoholic drinks to persons below 18 years; amend the Industrial Licensing Act, Cap. 91; to repeal the Potable Spirits Act, Cap. 97 and for related matters.
However, Parliament rejected the Bill in its entirety in 2024, citing strong opposition from the industry players, bar owners, farmers and the business community. Parliament also said several provisions in the Bill were already covered in other laws, while some of them were regarded as discriminatory and dangerous to the smooth business operations of the industry and would affect the economy.
The House Committee on Trade, Tourism and Industry, in its report on the Bill, said the stakeholders submitted that restrictions on the hours set for the sale would have adverse effects on revenue collection and tax contribution to the economy.
In its report to the House, the committee said the restrictions amounted to limiting the hours when businesses can work and were as such an infringement on the economic right to carry out lawful trade and business granted under Article 40(2) of the 1995 Constitution.
The committee said: “The clause does not take into account different employment including those who work during the night, those on holiday, and on leave (leisure tourists) and wish to enjoy their right to alcoholic drinks during the day time,” it said.
The report said the entire alcoholic drinks value chain, including the livestock and poultry farmers that supply meat and chicken to food vendors around bars, motorcyclists, special hire drivers, security guards, artists, among others, would be affected.
The committee then recommended that Parliament should not proceed on the Motion for Second Reading of the Alcoholic Drinks (Control) Bill, 2023. Subsequently, the Bill was rejected.
In 2016, Ms Betty Nambooze, the Mukono Municipality Member of Parliament, introduced the Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill, 2016 in Parliament. The Bill sought to bill seek to regulate the manufacture, sale, supply and consumption of alcoholic drinks.
However, the Bill was never passed by the House.
But Mr Richard Okuku, the Secretary General of ULGA, yesterday faulted Parliament for throwing out the Bill, instead of making amendments so that the issues they raised would be addressed.
He said some of Mr Barugahara’s directives are welcome and enforceable, but those on alcohol control and regulation of betting time would be difficult to enforce because they have no laws backing them.
Mr Okuku said the only way the district and other councils can enforce the directives is by the minister coming up with an instrument with clear guidelines which could be approved by Parliament to make them enforceable.
He argued that instead of first issuing the directives, the minister should have had consultations with the ULGA and other associations to come up with what works and what does not work, so that once a directive is issued, it covers all the gaps.
However, Mr Okuku said the directives on banning the sale of alcohol to children, granting access to journalists to council meetings, printing budgets and releases on public notice boards are already embedded within the laws and are easy to enforce.
He wondered why the local governments cannot display the budgets on their notice boards when both the law and the guidelines from the Public Finance Management Act and the Local Government Act are clear about transparency and accountability.
“The laws require that the local governments shall display the budget information on the notice board. Even when they receive releases from the Ministry of Finance, they are supposed to pin that information on the notice board every quarter to indicate that we have received this much, and this is how we have been able to spend it,” he said.
Mr Okuku also said while there are still challenges in ensuring that children below the age of 18 years do not have access to alcohol, shops, kiosks, and roadside sellers still sell such to the children, and therefore, it requires both the local governments and communities to enforce the directives to ensure that all comply with.
THE DIRECTIVES
Allow press access to all council sittings to promote transparency, accountability and public awareness, enabling citizens to follow debates, decisions and the conduct of public business in their respective local governments.
> Display approved budgets** on the main council notice board and other accessible public notice boards to enable members of the public to know what has been budgeted for their respective areas and follow up on the implementation of projects and services.
> Arrest bar owners, shop owners and operators of Malwa joints or other alcohol-selling establishments who sell or supply alcohol to persons under 18 years of age.
> Stop early-morning alcohol consumption to address idleness, family problems and rising crime associated with excessive alcohol consumption in some communities, while promoting a productive and responsible population.
> Bars and malwa joints should open after 3pm on working days subject to applicable national laws, licensing requirements and lawful local government regulations.
> Bars and alcohol outlets that repeatedly defy lawful operating hour directives should be closed, and appropriate enforcement action taken against persistent offenders in accordance with the law.
> Regulate betting operating hours of betting companies in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, to protect communities, particularly young people, from harmful practices associated with excessive betting.