Company wins Shs900m deal for MPs’ iPads

Parliament.

Civil society and some legislators on Friday labeled authorities in Parliament as a “pack of self-seekers” for sanctioning a deal worth about a billion shillings to buy free high-class computer tablets a.k.a. iPads for MPs.
An investigation by this newspaper has revealed that the Parliamentary Commission, the body in charge of members’ welfare, chaired by Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, reportedly approved the procurement amid disagreements over the ‘urgency’ and ‘relevance’ of the transaction.

“I don’t know why the Commission is buying iPads for us; if the issue is saving the costs for printing, as members we can afford to buy our own iPads instead of burdening the taxpayers,” said Mr Alex Ruhunda (NRM, Fort Portal Municipality).
“By the time a member is elected to Parliament, he or she should have the capacity to own a computer or an iPad. Our image as parliamentarians is so bad out there because of this kind of attitude,” he added.

No kind words
The director of Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda, Ms Cissy Kagaba, also has no kind words for the Commission over their decision to use taxpayers’ money to buy iPads for people he said have “let down” teachers and health workers in their push for a pay raise.

“I bet most of them don’t even know how to use iPads. How relevant will iPads improve the poor service delivery. They are just greedy, selfish and now a liability to the taxpayer,” Ms Kagaba said. “It’s only in Uganda where government does not have money for teachers and dying mothers but can afford iPads for MPs that claim to be representatives of the people.”
Information obtained by the Sunday Monitor indicates that based on instructions given by the Parliamentary Commission, the contracts committee of Parliament has gone ahead to award the iPads contract to M/s Elite Computers (U) Ltd in total disregard of the public condemnation of the deal. This newspaper has seen the best evaluated bidder notice issued by the Director Finance and Administration, Mr Okello Gautama Obabaru on August 13.

In defence of the deal, Parliament spokesperson Hellen Kaweesa said by having documents delivered electronically on the iPads, expenditure on paper in Parliament will be reduced and environmental performance and efficiency or work will be improved.

Defending deal
“We are diverting the money we would have spent on stationery to buy iPads for MPs. We no longer have to print bulky Hansards and reports for 386 members. We are also going to do away with delays in the House waiting for reports,” she said.

However, Ms Kaweesa could not explain the situation where some MPs whom the Commission wants to give free iPads said they can afford to buy for themselves, yet others like Theodore Ssekikubo and the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Nandala Mafabi, admitted that they already have iPads and therefore, giving them new gadgets would be squandering taxpayers’ money.

“MPs can afford, why should we buy iPads for them?” Mr Mafabi asked. “We must lead by example, how can we smile at brand new iPads when the people we represent in this House are dying in hospitals due to lack of drugs. How about the poorly-paid teachers and health workers who have appealed to Parliament for help?”

This newspaper understands that seven companies put in their bid for a deal criticised by some members, the beneficiaries as “sumptuous” but all the six were dropped on technical grounds.

The successful bidder, M/s Elite Computers (U) Ltd, a local firm whose proprietorship has not been disclosed, took the deal at Shs976.6 million.

The cost
At a cost of Shs976 million for 386 MPs, including the 11 ex-officios, each iPad is estimated to cost the taxpayer more than Shs2.5 million.
However, a primary school teacher earns about Shs260,000 per month.

This means that each iPad for an MP can pay about 10 primary school teachers for a month.
Government Chief Whip Kasule Lumumba also defended the procurement of the iPads for members as “necessary” insisting that such a move would bring down expenditures on stationary by three- quotas.

Ms Lumumba said last year the Commission spent more than Shs2 billion on printing, stationery, photocopying and binding.
However, this year, she said, the figure is expected to drop to as low as Shs383.9 million when the iPads are acquired.
But Ms Kagaba said iPads will not save on photocopying costs because “our Parliament has no culture of saving,” adding that “any amount of money that will be saved will either be stolen or be used by the same MPs to increase their allowances.”
Ms Kaweesa told the Sunday Monitor that the decision to buy iPads for members is a Commission decision and that the Commission approved the budget.

“They know how much is spent on stationery, so they made the decision after a careful consideration of the budgetary implications,” Ms Kaweesa said.

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