Henry Musasizi, Minister of State for Finance, has denied allegations that the Presidency that comprises 1,757 staff and 666 vehicles is operating a bloated budget, saying not all the funds allocated to State House and Office of President are consumed by President Museveni as a person.
“We would like to correct the impression which was created out there, that all expenditures under the State House are expenditures incurred by the person of the President in his House. These are institutional expenditures just like we do with our votes,” said Minister Musasizi.
Henry Musasizi clarified this following the Opposition’s decry over wasteful expenditure within the government wondering why the President should have 1,757 staff, yet only 14 out of the 28 beds in the Intensive Care Unit of Mulago Hospital are functional, due to shortage of staff.
“Can you justify the president employing 761 staff in his office and 996 staff at his residence? Our leader employs at his residence at taxpayers’ expense 51 cleaners, 52 cooks/chef/ catering officers, 80 gardeners, 29 housekeepers, 10 dhobi and laundry attendants, 106 private secretaries, 14 room attendants, 22 presidential assistants, 59 waitress/waiters and 14 presidential advisors. If this is not wastage, what is it? And these days the main work at State House is organizing birthday parties & wedding anniversaries,” Ssemujju noted.
Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda also called out the government for discrepancies in figures on Uganda’s public debt portfolio, saying the NRM is now just borrowing for fun, which explains why loans worth Shs14.5 trillion remain unutilized and yet these are attracting interest.
Interjecting into the matter, Jessica Ababiku, Chairperson Presidential Affairs Committee also denied allegations by the Opposition that State House’s top activities include holding weddings and birthday parties, saying as the Committee that oversees State House, no funds have ever been provided for such activities.
“As a Committee that oversees the State House, we have clear activities of the Presidency and this is provided for under article 98 of the constitution. We have never requested support for any activities like weddings and birthday parties, so I request that this is removed from the report unless there is evidence that we requested for these activities,” said Ababiku.
Ababiku also cited that some of the names included in the list of presidential advisors Klaus Holderbaum and Deo Nsereko are dead, while Judyth Nsababera Muthoni is an ambassador deployed in China saying, “Unless there is evidence that there is an expenditure for ghost staff, we disassociate ourselves with this list and I can cite this person has died and we don’t have evidence of ghost expenditure under salary.”
