The National Council For Higher Education (NCHE) will charge all prospective political candidates Shs2M for verification of their academic documents before qualifying for any elective positions.
However, a section of MPs have expressed disappointment over this decision.
Leading the criticism was Lyandro Komakech (Gulu Municipality) who informed Parliament that he had received a petition from some prospective candidates in Gulu who were questioning the levy slapped on them by NCHE, describing the fee as prohibitive as this is likely to drive the cost of elections higher because the candidates are also required to pay Shs3M for parliamentary and Shs20M for presidential elections.
Ephraim Kamuntu, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs told off political parties to only front candidates with clean academic documents instead of going through the pain of seeking equivalency verification by NCHE.
“On equivalency it is within the law, if you want to save yourself from equivalency, just bring people who are qualified,” the Minister said.
It should be noted that Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) also asked people wishing to join elective politics to get tax clearance certificates before they are nominated by the Electoral Commission.
