Opinion: 10th Parliament MPs proves that their Greed is more important than the Government programs and running expenses!

This is growing concern not because of the World Bank suspending loans and funds to the development projects or anything else. The ways the allocated funds and tax funds are used in the 10^th Parliament shows their level of reckless spending and no concern of accountability.

This happens on the week the Daily Monitor shows reports of 80% of Primary Teachers that teach who can’t read while being government civil servants. These Teachers are the ones learning their inabilities to the future. So the misappropriate funds for the Educational Sector comes into fruition. The Universal Primary Education is surely improperly balanced together with the mismanagement of buildings and salaries; if they get salaries that usually never on time, teachers can wait for months upon months to get their pay. There are enough fallen and depleted schools.

While the Education Sector is in shambles the Members of Parliaments are allocating more money for their private cars. So they can drive around like King-pins in their constituency. They can ride around in the Toyotal Land Cruiser Prado and feel special while their citizens they represent have teachers who can’t read and supposed to teach Vincent grammar. That is just so special ignorance of their duty those 30 years of the Movement should have had enough time to make difference and not make the schooling system weaker.

This is happening in the week that the imported Anti-Retroviral Drugs (ARDs) where National Medical Store (NMS) are distributing medicines, but they are sold more expensively locally than internationally. The Ugandan population are doing the same as Americans who pays an extra fortune for their EpiPen Auto-Injector. Together with the other issues around in the Hospitals like Uganda Cancer Institute and their breakdown of hte Cobalt 60 Teletherapy Machine. That still isn’t fixed and was the only one in the great nation.

While the Health Care and Health Sector are not as functional as it should be. While this is happening the MPs have allocated funds and bought Tablets or Ipad’s for a fortune for themselves. Because these MPs need tablets to write notes and such even if am not sure Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Ruganda or Vice-President Edward Ssekandi can even use one of them. So they spending a on this while medicines are missing or empty at a time or another.

The MPs salaries, the MPs Allowance and the MPs wish to exempt their salaries from Tax. Together with appropriating lots of funds for travelling for days to the United States and Boston for a Seminar; together with the extended funds for burials, this is happening so they can have an extravagant lifestyle into the casket.

This is happening while the government institutions and programs are weak or nearly non-existence. They have surely ghosts like the ghost SACCO Mzee gave to a non-existing organization. While the MPs representing their people are living like royals in the National Assembly with fancy cars and houses while the unemployment levels are still strong and the educations of their kids are made by teachers who can’t even write. This shouldn’t be happening, but apparently it is.

The Governance is not really happening. Because the government are not steering towards any place, they are walking on clouds and not taking steps to change the deteriorating state of education and health care.

This is happening while the Government are adding more debt and is by end of the year having over UGX 26 Trillion. This is happening while the Roads Development that been borrowed to Uganda National Roads Authority from the World Bank has been suspended. So the worsen economic situation together with lack of funds for fiscal cash proves the weakness of the economy and the national policies.

This is happening also while the Ugandan Government has to tackle more refugees in Adjumani and other districts towards South Sudan as the neighbour continues with internal fighting. This together with the fluid borders into Democratic Republic of Congo. This has been done with armies and guerrillas in the past to get resources something that has led to another expensive debt to DRC for the Ugandan State.

So the mismanagement and maladministration of the Movement that have had the time to fix it has apparently been more sucked into their own rich-elite oblivion instead of serving their people. That is why the MPs are so into fixing themselves up nicely while the other are living in midst of utter poverty. So the debt is rising and inflation is rising. So the value of shilling isn’t worth much while the imports are more needed. NRM Regime is not having a fiscal policy as they are loose with spending without having secured funding. While making grand plans without having the output to secure borrowing…

I am sure there more things that could be discussed, but this is more than enough for today. As the proof is in the pudding; the budget and the inflated expenses of the Parliament shows how little accountability and transparency of their acts are. This is with the knowledge of months after the General Election 2016… the State House we’re broke right after for those that forgotten. Since the State House had used it resources in the Campaign that cost fortunes and after the election they had to get funds to pay the running expenses.

You think the government should be carrying itself better after been ruling for 30 years, but they are not. They are running like lackeys thieving the little pieces they can instead of building. Therefore the MPs are running the mill like the ability is only counted for when they are pocketed. That is why the greed of getting brown-envelopes is coming when the Mzee needs bills to pass. They get both monies and valuable produce to sell after being in the National Assembly. So with this in mind, the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga should silence herself and take care of her people instead of blaming the media… because they account to the people and the MPs should be more careful spending taxpayer’s monies, instead they use the budget for their own sake and not for the citizens who bleed for this. Peace.

Monetary gains over the citizens needs is the reasonable way for the Ugandan MPs

The level of arrogance that they have learned from the Executive, Chief Whip and Secretary General of the NRM comes to hunt the Parliament of Uganda. The Members of Parliament is set in their ways and used, sorry accustomed to monetary gains on the bills of the tax-payers already. The Income-Tax Amendment is just the new niche. They have already subsidized cars, housing, supported health-care and other add-ons that make their jobs easier and profitable.

As Reported in the Daily Monitor Today:

“Addressing a news conference in Parliament yesterday, Mr Peter Ogwang (Youth Eastern) and Mr Henry Musasizi (Rubanda East) warned civil servants like Mr Muhakanizi, who this week condemned their tax exemption deal, that they are also waiting for them in Parliament during the consideration of the Auditor General’s reports. “We cannot pass the budget until we are sure that our amendment to Income Tax Bill has been concluded,” Mr Musasizi said. “In case the President does not sign the Bill, it will still come back to the same people in Parliament. These are hard facts. We will still pass it without fear or favour.” The MPs also took shots at civil society groups which are raising public awareness over the controversy. “The public should be with us in the struggle to facilitate MPs. We need facilitation to go to our constituencies because a Member of Parliament without money cannot have confidence. But there is an option, if they want us to drop the amendment, the government should give us Shs30 billion in additional funding to cater for increased salaries and benefits for Members of Parliament,” Mr Musasizi said. Mr Musasizi, who moved the amendment to the Income Tax law, also revealed that what he did had the backing of the President.  “We agreed with the President in the [ruling party’s parliamentary retreat in] Kyankwanzi that we should not increase our salaries and benefits but tax on our allowances should be lifted to maintain the status-quo,” he said” (Mugerwa, 2016).

So certain ones are putting the budget on a stalemate in favour of getting more money and not paying tax as ordinary citizens as they are MPs and for some reason deserves more facilitation then the people of Kalerwe or Kaabong. The ignorance and arrogance is just learned by the Inner-Circle of the NRM. This is just the works of decades of decadence from the ruling elite and now the chicken comes to roost. The egg is ready to put in the basket and the MPs are ready to be paid their salaries without having income-tax.

The interesting is that the Kyankwanzi 2.0. that was recently and made implications to the doing of the Parliament, how it was practically empty as the NRM CEC and the Executive set the agenda for the next Parliament, the 10^th One. The tone of now more benefits for the MPs in general, no salary increase for the MPs; the Income-Tax Amendment is an increase of salaries as they will get all the monetary gain and not pay for their facilitation for being an Member of Parliament instead of secretary at the district office in Mbarara.

That the MPs want to stifle the voting for the 2016/2017 budget for the steady “progress” of the country proves what values the representatives of population have. They are in parliament to eat, get fat and get bonuses that would be out of reach in other jobs. They want to make their life splendid on the tax-payers salaries and not become a “tax-payer” as long as they are representing the tax-payers. Which in turn is ironic; just recently they passed legislation that was made to fix the budget shortfalls of 2015/2016 as certain ministries was broke after the economic maladministration during the NRM campaign. That was done in hurry to secure salaries of the State House and other positions of the state. So they can offer something as long as the Executive also get his cut. But now they are forcing the Parliament and becoming hostile to create a functioning economic climate in the sense of their pockets. That is what they are initially saying. The proud men and woman who is supposed to be representing the tax-payers are saying that does not deserve to be taxed by the state. So who deserve it then?

The ones representing the tax-payer should pay tax. The ones that levy new taxes and regulations should themselves get taxed on what they earn. It is over the edge to see the moment of monetary greed from the Members of Parliament in Uganda. Their act of disgrace and attitude towards fellow citizens is overbearing. But they have just learned from their Executive who has teach them how he runs the Racket and racketeering, so that the NRM elite and the inner-circle also want their goods and glory as long as the cost is not theirs. The same way the Executive get funded for cars, jet-planes, housing and cattle-farms. Now the MPs want’s the same as their master. Peace.