Speaker blocks debate on Parliament expenditure again
Combo: The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and Lwemiyaga County MP, Mr Theodore Ssekikubo. PHOTO/ COURTESY
What you need to know:
- During the presentation of the 2024/25 ministerial policy statements for some agencies, MP Ssekikubo reminded the Speaker that she had promised to give the House an opportunity to debate issues unearthed in the online exhibition.
The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among on Thursday blocked a second proposal by one of the MPs to debate House expenditure that was recently a subject of public debate, with many taxpayer questioning the morality of the leadership of the legislative body.
She rebuffed the proposal by Lwemiyaga County MP, Mr Theodore Ssekikubo, arguing that she left her house to debate serious issues on the floor and not to entertain rumors and issues picked from social media.
“By the time I leave my house very early in the morning I have come for serious business. Let us dispose of some Ministerial Policy Statements,” Ms Among said.
Mr Ssekikubo’s insistency only attracted a warning not to test the Speaker’s patience.
“I have very important issues that are statutory in nature to be handled so, if you don’t respect the Chair,....unless we have more than one Speaker in this House. Much as I try to be patient, don’t touch the wrong side…..,” she warned.
Mr Ssekikubo’s move was in attempt to ignite the debate on corruption allegations and unrestrained expenditure of taxpayers’ money by the 11th Parliament that was recently unearthed on social media through a campaign #UgandaParliamentExhibition on microblogging platform X, by a section of activists under the Agora Discourse, an online activism NGO led by the journalist-cum-lawyer, Agather Atuhaire who teamed up with Makerere University lecturer and satirist, Dr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo and lawyer Godwin Toko.
The exhibitors revealed a number of issues including reports that Ms Among used Parliament’s junior staff to channel billions of taxpayers’ money through their personal bank accounts.
Parliament spokesperson, Mr Chris Obore said the money was for donations as part of the House’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
It was also revealed that four commissioners of Parliament allocated themselves Shs1.7 billion of taxpayers’ money as service award.
The beneficiaries of the questionable service award were; Nyendo-Mukungwe MP Mathias Mpuuga, Ms Prossy Mbabazi Akampurira (Rubanda Woman representative), Esther Afoyochan (Zombo Woman representative) and Solomon Silwany (Bukooli Central).
During the presentation of the 2024/25 ministerial policy statements for some agencies, MP Ssekikubo reminded the Speaker that she had promised to give the House an opportunity to debate issues unearthed in the online exhibition.
“You had undertaken that we shall have an opportunity to debate on the issue of the #UgandaParliamentExhibition wherein, members read the profligacy of this House, where upon the allegations of the handshake to the Commissioners was debated, whereabout, the back bench commissioners were given money ranging from Shs400 million to Shs500 million and you undertook that an opportunity will be availed to us to have this matter thoroughly debated, concluded and put to rest,” remarked Mr Ssekikubo.
In response the Speaker said, “Honorable members I am the one who said that I will give time for that discussion, and I said I will give time…..,”
The Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, however raised and asked the Speaker to guide when this debate will take place.
“The prayers I was making is that Parliament comes out to explain properly and formally because we are accountable to the people, we are a people centered-Parliament and maybe you can guide, Rt Hon Speaker, when that debate can happen; when the public can be explained to by the people-centered Parliament so that we don’t want to be accountable or we want to push things under the carpet,” he said.
In her rebuttal, Ms Among who is also the Bukedea Woman MP said, “Joel, I wrote to you that we shall have a meeting at the end of June and we shall do that.”
This is not the first time the Speaker is silencing the debate on parliament expenditure.
While chairing the House on March 16, she said; “"Honourable members, I will never, and I'm saying, I will never give you an answer on hearsay and on rumormongering. And we're not going to run this House on rumormongering...Me to answer you on hearsay? On things you have cooked on social media because I have said no to b** shafting (Homosexuality)? I will not, next item.”
