Some Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) have defied caution by Joel Ssenyonyi, Leader of Opposition not to attend the Regional Parliamentary Sittings due to the financial strain they will impose on taxpayers, saying the budget for the sittings was passed by Parliament, so it is wastage of time by the Opposition to feign ignorance about these sittings.
Leading the defiance was Abed Bwanika (Kimaanya-Kabonero) of National Unity Platform-NUP and Naboth Namanya (Rubabo County) FDC who made their stances ahead of their departure to Gulu, with Bwanika arguing that the National Unity Platform should have used this opportunity to seek for support from the Northern region, a region that never supported the Party during the 2021 general elections, instead of opposing the activity just because it is being spearheaded by Speaker Among.
“If the Opposition was clever, we would have been the first to camp in Northern Uganda so we gather the region and support us, but if you start this kind of politics that I am not going because it is Speaker Among in charge, that means you have never understood politics. The Northern region didn’t support us. The National Unity Platform doesn’t even have any MP from that region,” Bwanika said.
Bwanika also disputed Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi’s claims that he wasn’t aware of this activity, saying the money for the regional sittings was approved by MPs and went on to question Ssenyonyi’s understanding of the budget process in Uganda.
“This would have been the best opportunity for the Party to expand its structures, but instead of expanding the Party structure, he is saying I am not going, I was never informed, Ssenyonyi, where are you always when the budget is being passed because you don’t seem to understand anything? Where are you always when Parliament budgets are being passed? I heard you say Shs5 trillion, which isn’t even in the budget,” he added.
Although Naboth Namanya (Rubabo County) is opposed to the holding of regional sittings citing wastage of taxpayers’ money, he said that if the Opposition wanted to stop the regional parliamentary sittings, they should have protested the budgetary allocations, but since they were overpowered by the numerical strength by their counterparts in NRM, he decided to go as decision taken in the regional Parliaments are likely to affect his people in Rubabo-Rukungiri district.
“Now if you say we shouldn’t go because the Leader of Opposition said we shouldn’t go, does it mean that in every decision made in Parliament where the NRM means, we should leave? Our Opposition budget was Shs43 trillion and those people passed the Shs72 trillion budget, so should we abandon the national budget because our Opposition budget was rejected? So fundamentally, we can accept some issues and reject others. I am opposed to spending taxpayers’ money in these regional parliaments, but because our colleagues decided that, let me go with the majority and go and represent my nation,” Namanya added.
Paul Asaba (Kyaka North) claimed that the Shs20 trillion cited by the Leader of Opposition as expenditure for the regional sittings is forged, but just like all the people disputed Ssenyonyi’s figure, Asaba also declined to reveal that actual amount that Parliament was going to spend on these activities.
‘So, if they just say that now, that we are changing the venue from Kampala to Northern Uganda, even if they hadn’t put the Parliamentary buses as a Member of Parliament, we are given a vehicle, fuel I can drive my vehicle and go to Northern Region and we also sit in the Northern region,” remarked Asaba.
“We have heard some voices from some MPs, more especially from those in Opposition, I don’t think from our Party (NRM), there are those who are refusing. They are saying that the expenditure is going to be so high, they are even forging some amounts, that this money would build a health facility, but that isn’t true. First of all, MPs get salary and allowances and we use the money that we are paid for to come here, stay in Kampala and deliberate on issues concerning our constituencies,” argued Asaba.
“We are going as Parliament and the Parliamentary proceedings are going to be the same- normal. We have just changed the area where we are going to be, only that, but the rest will be normal. The only thing that we want to hear from this, we want to hear all the things affecting that region, we discuss and we see how best the Government can intervene and help them. So, the only thing that we want is to at least sit, carefully listen from those people who come from that particular region, the challenges that affect them, we sit down as Parliament, listen and harmonise and understand what the best remedy for that region could be,” Stephen Kangwagye (Bukanga County)-NRM.
“You are coming to a place (Gulu City) where God lives. The beauty about having these regional parliamentary sittings is that it is an opportunity to focus on that particular region. So, this to us, this is an opportunity to give a deeper focus on Northern Uganda. It is also an opportunity to have Parliament closer to the people, there are so many schools that want to be there and follow how Parliament conducts business, but also, there are critical issues that the leaders in Northern Ugandan have actually assembled together that we will be presenting before Parliament,” Mapenduzi Ojara (Bardege-Layibi Division) -Independent.
