Each of the 557 members of Parliament has received Shs1.5 million as an allowance for the regional sitting scheduled to take place in Gulu City today.
According to Nansana Municipality legislator Wakayima Musoke, the Shs1.5 million is based on the assumption that each day, an MP will spend around Shs400,000.
Wakayima, who is one of the opposition MPs planning to boycott the regional sittings, revealed that although the Parliamentary Commission credited their accounts, the money will be reclaimed from each MP who doesn’t attend the sitting, as has been the practice in government.
“I don’t see the reason why people should be worried about the allowances. It is automatic: once you don’t do government work, next month, that money is deducted and taken. So, whether I get it from the bank to give it to the officers of Parliament, it will be automatically taken. The money that has been wired to the accounts of MPs is,” noted Wakayima.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has scoffed at a section of opposition members of Parliament over their assertion that the regional parliamentary sittings are a waste of taxpayers’ money.
The Speaker said that Parliament is for all Ugandans, and so sittings can be held in any part of the country. She stated that the regional sittings are intended to bring Parliament closer to the people.
Regarding why they started the sittings in Gulu, the Speaker said that it was done to honor the late Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, who was a son of the region.
