When Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine of People Power pressure group announced he would not touch the Shs20m given to each MP to help in the fight against Covid19 disease, some people opposed him and branded him a populist.
While Bobi Wine is not the only MP who refused the money, it is understandable why he received the biggest amount of criticism. He is a political amateur, vocal, has presidential ambitions and an election is months away.
So, it was not surprising that even the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, didn’t find a better punching bag for her criticism against MPs who had returned the money than Bobi Wine yet there were other MPs like Mawokota North’s Amelia Kyambadde and Nyabushozi County’s Col Fred Mwesigye.
Even when some argue that Bobi had used strong language to describe the allocation (he called it a bribe and insisted on calling it so even if Speaker Kadaga wanted to crucify him), there seems to have been no point in anyone demonizing Kyagulanyi and other MPs for their disagreement over the money.
But as public debate on the Shs10bn scandal starts to lose steam, some are beginning to realize that away from using their hatred and jealousy for Bobi, the youthful MP and others who returned the money might have been right after all.
Regardless of where the money goes and what it used for, it had been procured illegally and anyone who stood on his feet and rejected it will be remembered for one’s boldness when Ugandans revisit this scandal long after Covid has been defeated and Bobi Wine has retired from active politics.
By announcing that the money will be sent to respective districts of MPs who returned it scores temporary political points for Kadaga and her Parliamentary Commission but clearly shows how she scored an own goal.
Why did she have to give the MPs cash yet she was aware of how previous monies given out this way had attracted public criticism? Why did the Commission not think of sending the allocation to the district or national taskforces if they so much cared about helping Ugandans? Why wasn’t the money foregone to boost other key budgets like that of the Ministry of Health? These and more questions will for long be discussed any time this scandal comes up for debate.
Those who received the money said their constituents badly needed it because they were already starving due to Covid19 lockdown. But MPs are known to have been helping their constituents long before the allocation was sneaked into a Covd19 supplementary budget.
And while it might have helped feed hungry constituents, the money was certainly not enough to reach all the vulnerable poor in the areas they represent. So, where are they getting more money to feed the people? And aren’t Bobi Wine, Col Mwesigye, Gerald Karuhanga, Minister Kyambadde and others who returned the money helping their constituents in ways they can afford?
Some of the MPs have also spent the money without consulting their district’s taskforces as guided by the Parliamentary Commission. On April 28, President Museveni said MPs who have used the money outside the taskforces will have to pay it back. This means that the legislators will simply offer proof of expenditure or risk paying the Shs20m to the Commission. In the latter case, it would mean that the MPs used their money to buy food for their constituents – so, why didn’t they leave the controversial package that now has capacity to soil their public image.
If Museveni chose to deal with the MPs who spent the money without working with the national/district taskforce, then it would be embarrassing for most of them, especially those on the opposition side such as Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) spokesperson and Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda who have been criticizing government over corruption. On this front, Bobi and others who returned the cash would be safe.
And even if Museveni doesn’t go after this group, the MPs like Ssemujju will have to think twice before criticising those engaged in theft of public funds because they will be reminded (by regime propagandists) that they took money that was illegally procured and failed to account for it or used it for their own things.
While this will be happening, Bobi and other MPs who took the bold decision will not be seen as populist any more but as having the moral authority to condemn corruption because they have refused money illegally allocated to Parliament.
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