Several Opposition Members of Parliament have criticized the Regional Parliamentary sittings organized by the Parliament of Uganda, labelling the Shs20Bn budgeted for these sessions as a waste of taxpayers’ money. Each of these settings is expected to cost around Shs5Bn.
During a press briefing at Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, the Leader of the Opposition, voiced his concerns and accused the top leadership of Parliament of misappropriating taxpayers’ money on a concept that he argues lacks both logical and financial sense, especially given the current challenges facing Uganda.
“We understand that about Shs5Bn is going to be spent on each of these settings, not all of them, each of these settings. The first one is in Gulu, then there will be another in Mbarara, then another in Mbale, and one of the Central Uganda districts. This expenditure is difficult to explain to the public and the people we represent. It is total wastage, so we are saying, for this which doesn’t make logical, financial sense, it is a problem we don’t want to be part of,” said Joel Ssenyonyi.
The Leader of Opposition warned that Parliament’s continued involvement in activities perceived as a waste of taxpayers’ money would further enrage a public already disgruntled with the corruption and abuse of office within Parliament.
“The general public has been bashing Parliament and rightly so, because they have been hearing of the grand theft that has been happening in this institution, in different offices, beginning with the top office in this institution, and then you come out and do such things which aren’t explainable at all, it doesn’t make sense,” Ssenyonyi stated.
Ssenyonyi also questioned why these funds were not allocated to Parliamentary Committees to carry out their oversight roles, which would involve going into communities to listen to people’s concerns and generating reports for Parliament to debate.
“That is why you hear some sections of the public saying that maybe this is another ploy to account for money that is being stolen. Our (Opposition) participation is difficult to justify. We have Committees of Parliament and these Committees go and work on behalf of Parliament, why don’t we empower committees? Many times committees complain that they aren’t able to go out to the field why don’t we empower committees as opposed to doing it this way,” noted Ssenyonyi.
The Leader of the Opposition highlighted other pressing issues, such as the protests by medical interns who are not being deployed due to a lack of resources and police officers who have not received promised pay raises. He questioned whether the public would understand the expenditure of Shs5Bn on these regional sittings when there are so many unmet needs.
“Medical interns are protesting because they aren’t being deployed, only a small group and the Ministry of Health is saying, the reason we aren’t deploying is because we don’t have resources. Give us more money and we shall deploy all of them. Police officers are saying, we were promised a pay rise, but they are saying we have been duped, they are only getting a small fraction of that which was promised, where is the other money that was promised to us? Will the public understand us when we are spending Shs5Bn to go to Gulu, Mbale, Mbarara, and the Central Region? They will not understand because it doesn’t make sense at all. It is wastage,” remarked Ssenyonyi.
He further criticized the excitement some people might feel about having MPs meet in their area, pointing out that beyond this excitement, the purpose of these meetings remains unclear.
“There might be some people who might be excited that all MPs have come to meet in their area, but beyond the excitement, then what? Aren’t we able to sit here and deliberate on issues that are of concern to Northern, Eastern, Western, and Central Uganda, and then push through to make sure those matters are addressed? And that is why we don’t want to be part of this unexplainable process, which is a very clear wastage and not justifiable at all. So it doesn’t make sense for you to say, you are going to transport the entire Parliament and then spend a lot of money, which money could do several things,” added Joel Ssenyonyi.
The Opposition’s stance on the matter underscores a growing frustration with financial decisions made by Parliament, calling for more accountable and logical use of public funds.
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