Prime
Do more to fight graft at Parliament
What you need to know:
- During the reign of then Speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, now First Deputy Prime Minister and minister for East African Community Affairs, inside the corridors of power, it had been rumoured that the President was finding it too hectic and costly to convince legislators to heed to his demands on Bills and budgets.
Several allegations of corruption in Parliament as an institution have come up in recent times. The August House’s top brass have been cited in these allegations, some of which have been backed with what would pass for substantial evidence if tabled in courts of law.
At the height of the Parliament exhibition on X, formerly known as Twitter, it was revealed how some parliamentary commissioners had dipped their hands in the cookie jar and alloted themselves Shs1.7 billion in what they called service awards , enough to equip Busalaba Health Centre III to serve the community. It was most disheartening that Mr Mathias Mpuuga, who at the time was the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, got a Shs500m service award.
The other three commissioners, Prossy Mbabazi, Esther Afoyochan and Solomon Silwany, each pocketed Shs400 million .
As you read this today, the new parliamentary building is still not yet complete, more than two years after it was set to be completed. Meanwhile, the same House keeps on funnelling out billions of money annually in rent fees for offices of MPs.
And while all that is going on, President Museveni does not look like he will put an end to corruption in Parliament.
I am convinced about this, because of the President’s speech while opening the East Africa Secondary Schools games in Bukedea on August 18. Hosted by the House Speaker, Ms Annet Anita Among, at her newly constructed Bukedea Comprehensive Sports Arena. President Museveni is quoted to have said:“I am very happy with what Anita Among has done; there is less friction in Parliament, between Parliament and the Executive and as you can see, she is very active in the area here.”
In other words, the President is willing to let MPs keep their loot as long as the House ensures there’s no friction, whether justified or otherwise, between the Legislature and the Executive.
During the reign of then Speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, now First Deputy Prime Minister and minister for East African Community Affairs, inside the corridors of power, it had been rumoured that the President was finding it too hectic and costly to convince legislators to heed to his demands on Bills and budgets.
But as of today, it’s reported beyond the corridors of Parliament that current Speaker Among has far reaching influence across the House, most of which is founded in her financial muscle, the blue pen that inks signatures to approve allowances and foreign trips for MPs, among others.
We have also observed her overzealous hand in the case of Mr Francis Zaake (Mityana Municipality) when he was impeached as a backbench parliamentary commissioner, a decision the Constitutional Court deemed to be invalid.
Robert Kayindi
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