Debate on Parliament spending is good

One of my NRM friends sent me a WhatsApp message this week complaining about Ms Enrica Maria Aristidina Pinetti. His complaint was not about the usual ghost super international hospital at Lubowa.
He had watched a story on NBS news of Mubende leaders lamenting that Ms Enrica had failed to construct a 97-kilometre Lusalira-Nkonge-Ssembabule road given to her by the government. How did she get all these contracts? I think was his complaint.

READ: Junior Parliamentary staff received billions of shillings on Speaker’s behalf

“I wonder what can be done to ensure this woman never touches any public works in Uganda again,” he fumed. My response, “Removing Museveni and making sure he is not succeeded by his son.
After my proposal of removing Museveni, he sent me WhatsApp images whose meaning I don’t know. I am very poor at interpreting social media-generated images.
This conversation gives the right context to the debate on the parliamentary spending and service awards given to commissioners including my brother Hon. Mathias Mpuuga.

A debate like this would be followed by mass resignations if it took place in Europe. In Uganda, no resignation will be registered. Why? Museveni is the President.
Of value to the ongoing debate on Parliament’s spending are three items in the State House budget; donations, travel inland and abroad, and classified expenditure.
In May 2013, the State House presented a Shs138.2 billion supplementary budget request to Parliament. It had in seven months consumed all of its Shs60.2 billion budget.

The State House comptroller told the Budget Committee of Parliament that the President was now spending Shs2.4 billion per day when he travels for public outreach. He was spending Shs500 million per day when meeting district delegations. This is what Dr. Lulume Bayiga wrote in his minority report protesting Museveni’s extravagance. Of course, the NRM MPs passed the supplementary budget.
I have seen social media leakages accusing Speaker Anita Among of spending Shs200 million, and Shs300 million in public outreaches. Let me confess, I don’t know what these public outreaches are about. I also don’t know whether the social media leakages are true.

The Speaker of Parliament is number three in the hierarchy of government. If number one spends about Shs2.4 billion per day, I will not be surprised, if she spent Shs500 million for five or seven days. And I am not saying it is right.
That is how infectious Museveni’s lifestyle has become. His followers seek to emulate him to the dot.

It is the reason, in my view, the Speaker is riding in an eight-vehicle motorcade because number one’s convoy is 63 vehicles. The vice president rides in about the same number of vehicles as the Speaker. My friend Prime Minister Robinah Musafiri Nabbanja’s convoy has at least six vehicles. Ministers are now riding in three-vehicle convoys. District chairpersons each have a vehicle and the bad manners have spread to the villages where each LCI chairperson is given a bicycle.

Mr Museveni as the archbishop of our politics is preaching opulence and extravagance. What do you expect his followers such as Among to do?
In fact, Among is a poor student. Hon Rebecca Kadaga Alitwala was a quicker learner. You remember in the 10th Parliament Kadaga had even ordered a helicopter.
Museveni stopped her because she was starting to be like him in stature. He didn’t stop her because of extravagance. And if Among was a quick learner, she should be ordering a jet.

The public has every reason to be angry with all of us but the solution is not getting rid of Among. In a Parliament where MPs connive to share Shs 170 billion meant for closed cooperatives and another group share iron sheets meant for poor people in Karamoja, a service award begins to look normal. That is why the solution is “Remove Museveni and make sure he is not succeeded by his son.”

Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda, MP Kira Municipality