Karamoja MPs protest over meagre allowances
Attendance. Nakapiripirit Woman MP Esther Anyakun (right), Napak Woman MP Stella Namoe (2nd right), Labuor County MP Micheal Eyepa and other officials during the meeting organised by officials of the Italian Cooperation in Moroto District on Monday. PHOTO BY STEVEN ARIONG
What you need to know:
- Mr Francis Okori, the commissioner for Karamoja development in the Office of the Prime Minister, condemned the act of the MPs, describing it as “unfortunate”.
- The MPs for Karamoja region had been invited for a two- day joint meeting organised by the Italian Embassy and the Health ministry to deliberate on the construction of health centres in the remote Sub-region.
A section of Karamoja Members of Parliament on Tuesday walked out of a meeting organised by officials of the Italian Cooperation in Moroto District over what they called “meagre allowances”.
Trouble started at around 8 am, when an Italian official handling payments for the MPs’ allowances brought a sheet of paper indicating that each legislator was to sign Shs150, 000 per day for the two days they had spent at Mt Moroto Hotel in Moroto District.
The MPs erupted in anger and engaged in verbal fights with the organisers of the meeting accusing them of deviating from an earlier arrangement of paying Shs450, 000 per day as allowances.
“These people want to cheat us. We can’t accept them to come and cheat the people of Karamoja. This is already a sign of corruption,” shouted Samson Lokeris, the Dodoth East legislator, who doubles as Karamoja parliamentary group chairperson.
Walked out. Samson Lokeries and Hilary Lokwang
“I spent Shs350, 000 fuelling my Nissan vehicle from Kampala to Moroto to attend this meeting and these guys want to pay me Shs150, 000! This is out of order. Let them stay with their money,” said Hilary Lokwang, another MP representing Ik County in Kaabong District.
“If we fail to meet the two ministers, then we shall meet the President over this insult,’’ added Mr Lokwang.
Attempts by Mr Alphonse Owori, the assistant clerk to Parliament to convince MPs not to walk out of the meeting were in vain and instead the legislators turned against him.
One of the women who were responsible for payments but declined to be named because she is not authorised to speak to the press, confirmed that they had budgeted to pay each MPs Shs450, 000 per day, but they were later told by the Clerk to Parliament that all MPs in the region would be transported in a parliamentary bus to cut on costs.
“We sent the money for fueling the bus yet some MPs had used their private cars and it was difficult for us to pay them,” she said.
Mr Francis Okori, the commissioner for Karamoja development in the Office of the Prime Minister, condemned the act of the MPs, describing it as “unfortunate”. He said walking out of the meeting was not a solution adding that they should have completed it.
