LoP asks Speaker to recall House for corruption debate  

Opposition MPs yesterday demanded that Parliament be recalled from a self-imposed break to address itself to issues raised in an ongoing anti-corruption campaign being waged on social media.
 
Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LoP), said at a media briefing that the House must have a say on the explosive allegations about abuse of office and public funds on such a grand scale in the House.

Over the past fortnight, the allegations have raged on the micro-blogging site, X under the hashtag #UgandaParliamentExhibition. The lawyer, journalist and social justice activist, Ms Agather Atuhaire, has teamed up with university don, satirist and social commentator, Dr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, and others under the Agora Discourse lobby to lead the public campaign.
 
Among the revelations are allegations that the Speaker of Parliament was allocated billions of shillings in questionable disbursements.
 
Reacting to what has appeared online, along with what she called petitions and whistleblower accounts, the Inspector General of Government, Ms Beti Kamya, last week announced she was launching a probe into corruption at Parliament.
 
Mr Ssenyonyi told journalists that reports of suspected corruption, implicating Speaker Anita Among and the Parliamentary Commission are alarming enough and must not be swept under the carpet.
 
“I wrote to the Speaker, asking her to convene a Commission meeting so that we get answers to all these various expenditures, which have not been explained either legally or morally. We are saying that this meeting should happen within this week,” said Mr Ssenyonyi, who like Mr Mpuuga, is a member of NUP where he is also party spokesman.
 
“Secondly, as the Shadow Cabinet, we are asking the Speaker to convene a Parliament sitting soonest within this week so that we can discuss these matters because this institution is accountable to the people of Uganda,” he added.
 
Mr Ssenyonyi said although the director for Public Affairs and Communication at Parliament, Mr Chris Obore, has responded to some of the issues raised by the public in the media, there is a need to address them formally.
 
The demand for a plenary sitting comes days after deputy speaker, Mr Thomas Tayebwa abruptly adjourned Parliament sine die (indefinitely) on Wednesday last week.

Parliament speaks
But whether the House will be recalled as demanded by the Opposition remains in doubt, with Mr Obore telling Daily Monitor it is up to the Speaker to decide when to convene plenary sittings.
 
“When Parliament is adjourned sine die, it is only the Speaker to recall it when necessary. Secondly, there is no need for the Speaker to address these rumours when I have addressed them on several platforms,” Mr Obore said yesterday.
 
Mr Ssenyonyi indicated that Parliament would appear insensitive if it were to remain silent in the face of such disturbing allegations being made in the public domain.
 
“…the Parliament should unequivocally explain to the people of Uganda, addressing all these allegations regarding the irregular recruitment, monies that have been spent in an [inexplicable] manner, sham contracts, and the like,” he said.
 
“Our hope is that these three demands and resolutions are acted upon within this week. If they are not met, then we shall convene again to communicate our next course of action,” he added.
 
Opposition demands
Central to the LoP’s demand is a call for the House to look into donations by the Speaker; the service award and how Mama Bukedea FM radio station located in the Speaker’s constituency reportedly secured a parliamentary advertising contract worth over Shs3 billion.
 
He additionally wants colleagues to discuss the billions of shillings which were disbursed to the private bank accounts of parliamentary staff reportedly for expenditure on community outreaches involving the Speaker.

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