National Resistance Movement – Youth League (NRM-YL): Press Release (09.03.2024)

Opinion: Did the MPs receive a 50m kickback this week?

There are rumours and speculations that the Members of Parliament this week got a monetary gain of 50 million shillings. They needed to pass by the house of Speaker Anita Among in Kololo. When going there they would receive the cash in hand and go on their merry.

The same deal happened in December 2023 before Christmas. That time the payouts was hidden under the budget vote of “classified expenditure” of the State House. This time it might be somewhere else, but it won’t be in plain sight.

The Speaker wants to vindicate her name and have unbound loyalty. So as she’s eating and control the plate. She can use some additional expenditure and funds to buy that. The MPs are getting “free” and being bought for silence. They won’t target Among’s expenses and misuse of office, if they are doing the same. That means everyone is part of the con and getting the bargain.

The “service award” to the Parliament Commissioners are bad enough. Just like the “per diem” expenses to several individuals in Parliament. There is so much wastage and abundance of funds. While the government services are lacking or not even having enough to sustain itself. The expenses of the Parliament cannot be deemed “value for money”. As it is an open heist.

The MPs are representatives of the people and not robbers. However, they are acting like it and could easily be deemed thieves. The millions of shillings going their way should go to schools, hospitals and paying civil servants. Nevertheless, it instead goes to side-dishes, mansions and luxurious outfits that looks smart on NBS Frontline.

It isn’t surprising that the MPs would sink this low and accept these sorts of money. We have seen it in the past and previous MPs doing it too. Now they are accepting a bribe to be silent about how the Speaker operate. That is done to shun the Exhibition and whatever it reveals. Because everyone knows the IGG, OAG or the State House Anti-Corruption Unit won’t do anything about it. They will look the other way just everyone else.

This is just another “Presidential Handshake” or a “sophisticated” tender that is tricking the trade for a quick pay-off. They are just eating of the plates of others and hope nobody notice. That’s why there will be little to no paperwork on this here transaction. It will be hidden in votes of “confidential funds” and be lost in the sauce. That’s how they work and they are proud of it too.

Being dishonest and accepting theft. It isn’t directly stealing from people, but these funds should have been used for more needy people. There are enough public entities and government institutions that could need an upgrade or more money to work sufficiently. However, it is more important that the MP can afford a new SUV or fix his second home somewhere.

This will be quickly dismissed and some will be running back to Parliament with the funds. As they are obvious to the outcry. They will look like fools, as all the other backbenchers and MPs are eating. The honest ones who dares to challenge after accepting the envelopes will be in trouble. That will be investigated and they will regret doing it.

They will not regret taking the money, but actually returning it. They should have never accepted the millions of shillings anyway, but they did… and others will suffer the consequences. Peace.

National Unity Platform (NUP): Letter from Acting Party President Dr. Lina Zedriga Waru to Mathias Mpuuga MP – Notice to Show Cause why the Party should not Recall you as Parliamentary Commissioner (05.03.2024)

Opinion: Among will only be touched if she flies to close to the sun

The ones working for censoring or impeaching the Speaker of the House, Anita Among… you are running a fools errand at the moment. There is justification for it and the misuse of office is obvious. However, in the Republic and with the ruling regime… those things doesn’t matter and we all know that.

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) won’t strike hard on corrupt officials and neither will the State House. It will give a few fire and fury speeches, but actions is another matter. We all see it from a mile away. There is no birds or verbatim messages being sent from Entebbe to Nile Avenue. No, nothing and we can just live another day.

The Speaker is to date untouchable. She is supreme and can run the shop as she pleases. She can be vocal and act as an overlord, as long as she serves the purpose of the Head of State. His Excellency won’t strike at her, as long as she serves his eery whim. That’s what she does and skims a little of the top doing so. Keeping the MPs in order and keeping them tight-knit under her reign. This is her prerogative and she’s thriving on the power-trip.

Some MPs might be frustrated and feel humbled by her. Among is maybe not the average cup of tea. As he expect blind loyalty and follow her orders to a T. There is no second chance or room for mistakes. You abide by her word and dance when she tells you too.

If you do that… then she will honour you and give you gifts. She will usher in a new era and give you the time of day. The perks, the allowances and all your needs will be met. As long as you keep your eyes shut at her practices and misuse of office. No one is to speak of the theft, the thieving and the enrichment of her household. No, she just built a mansion and praised herself as a new Queen in town.

That’s why we just have to await another turn. The 11th Parliament won’t sanction her or have the power to do so. No, she will not allow anyone to censor her or even go after her. If they try… the MPs who writes the motion or even files the paperwork will be endangered. If you thought Zaake MP could be hurt. The ones who goes after her livelihood will be taken out and be vilified easily.

Speaker Among can only be taken out if she tries to jump the line like Amama Mbabazi. If Among believes she’s the next in line and aims at the throne. We have to see the Speaker vocally and deliberately acts to get ahead of time. That she wants to become the Head of State and become a Presidential Candidate. If she does that… she will be dethroned and clipped off her wings.

Among would lose everything, temporarily. Until, she returns to the fold and begs for mercy to His Excellency. That’s the game and we have seen that gambit before.

The Speaker no matter how powerful she is right now. She is still in the mercy of the President. As long as the President see value in her actions. She will be allowed to entertain and continue her practices, but the moment she defies or act in spite of that. That’s when the table turn and her demise will come. Peace.

Bank of Uganda: Monetary Policy Statement for March 2024 (06.03.2024)

Opinion: When the mbuzi (goat) is overpriced…

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has tasked the Ministry Agriculture to explain circumstances under which Shs7.3Mn was spent on the purchase of each goat, yet the majority of the goats bought ended up dying within the first week after distribution, with auditors blaming the supplier of intentionally supplying sick & emaciated goats to Government” (…) “Steven Kajura, Project Coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture defended the cost spent on each goat saying the goats were bought from South Africa and were of a higher pedigree explaining, “The goats were got from South Africa & Namibia, we bought high pedigree animals and that cost includes cost insurance and flight so it came to Shs7.3Mn. The exotic pedigree animals are usually very expensive, you are free to google and you will come to around the same range.”” (Parliament Watch, 04.03.2024).

When the Daily Monitor wrote a piece about goat versus sheep rearing in 2021, they most likely didn’t think it would be this relevant. Even with rising prices and inflation. The stipulations of the 2021 article is sufficient to say that the government, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Project Coordinator who bought the goats overspent money on every single transaction.

We have now heard the testimony that the government spent 7,3 million shillings per goat. In a nation where the prices depending on the age of the goat goes from 150,000 shillings to about 550,000 shillings. That’s the prices which the Daily Monitor said in 2021 and most likely has changed, but not tripled or quadrupled over the years. Even Harvest Money article on the matter from 2023 stated the going price for a one year old good crosses goes for around 150,000 to 200,000 shillings. Which all states the fact that the government paid way over price for the animals.

They should show proof of purchase and not only the words of the Project Coordinator. The proof of transactions and the imports of the goats. As this is such a wastage of public funds. The idea of paying millions per goat when they go for much less domestically. If the government was sincere about “value for money” they would have bought it from the local market. You know “buy Uganda, build Uganda”. However, that is just empty sloganeering and not modus operandi.

It is just special that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) would do things like this. Spend money like tomorrow and waste it on goats that died quickly after being distributed. They spent millions upon millions on goats and they never added any value. The goats just died and didn’t serve their purpose. That’s pure wastage of public funds and lacking oversight of the project itself. Not that is this is new either, as there are plenty of government programs that has money, but no mechanisms to safeguard a purchase. Which is what we have seen with plenty of government programs and the goats is just the latest scandal.

This isn’t even a big scandal, but a minor one, which is just a reflection of how the NRM operates. It isn’t new, but a pattern. We can just wonder who ate the money and who gained “profits” from the tender or the purchase of the goats. Because when you have such an overpriced product/item someone is skimming over the top. It just have to happen and someone acknowledge the transaction and got a cut. With this sort of money… there is gatekeepers and people who found a way to eat. That’s the reality here.

It might never be revealed, but when goats costs in the millions and they die after a short time. You know the whole deal was shady and someone earned a fortune on it. The kickbacks and the envelopes ended somewhere… it is undeniable and we can wonder where. Peace.

Public Square (PS): Public Square Statement Regarding Parliamentary Commission “Service Award” Payments (03.03.2024)

A look into Bobi Wine’s response to Mpuuga…

On 6th May, 2022 there was a meeting of the Parliamentary Commission attended by Ms. Anitah Among, Hon. Mpuuga and the three NRM Commissioners of Parliament. This was two months after Hon. Zaake was illegally removed from that position. In that meeting, these leaders awarded themselves a collective amount of 1.7 billion shillings. Hon. Mpuuga was allocated 500 million shillings, while the three others were each awarded 400 million shillings. It was not until the minutes of the Parliamentary Commission were ‘leaked’ to the public almost two years later, that we all got to know about this” (Bobi Wine, 02.03.2024)

Today is a special day, as the revelations are taking form and there are coherent discussion about the 500 million shillings called “service award” which was given to former Leader of the Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga.

Mpuuga himself has defended himself as a politician and an individual. Though as a tactician and politician, he rather discussed technicalities and not the modalities of his actions. The legality are maybe there, but the justification for the “service award” is another thing. The MP and the LoP should have known better. That’s why the Party he represents and the ones who gave him a ticket in 2021 are asking for him to resign as Commissioner of Parliament. Alas, that is something he won’t do and trying to twist himself out of.

That’s why the Party President Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine have given his reasons for why Mpuuga should resign. I will only take small fragments of the text. Regardless of that. I can say that the merits of Mpuuga is dwindling and he cannot save face. Especially, being a vocal opposition and talking about corruption like he did for years, and now in recent time been eating himself. That just shows the hypocrisy and what he does behind closed doors. Which is in contrast to the message he been spreading since the A4C days.

I like to first take note of this:

1. As all former Leaders of the Opposition have confirmed, none of them ever received a ‘Service Award’. What was special about the service of Hon. Mpuuga to warrant a Service Award that was never given to his predecessors? Secondly, even if Hon. Mpuuga and the three NRM Parliamentary Commissioners had done anything exceptional, would it be up to them to sit and award themselves for a job well done? I mean, it defeats basic logic for anyone to say they are awarding themselves- moreover with hundreds of millions of tax payers’ money. Does that mean that every public servant should now sit in his office and allocate some money to themselves for feeling good about themselves and the work they do?” (Bobi Wine, 03.02.2024)

Let us all bow down for the greatness of Mpuuga. The one and only, the one of a kind, the one that created his own Handshake and abided by it. A man who fought in the trenches against corruption and became alike the people he fought for years. That’s who he became and that’s why he was the worthy one of a “service award”.

We continue…

Second:

6. The LOP like all MPs earns a salary and allowances. However, on top of that, the LOP also earns extra allowances and gets facilitated by Parliament to enable him or her fulfill the duties of that office. What therefore justifies an extra Service Award for an office which is duly facilitated with a budget for its operations, over and above what ordinary MPs earn?” (Bobi Wine, 03.02.2024).

You know you are privileged and has vast funds when it is described like this. The LoP has advantages that other citizens can only dream off. Still, that wasn’t enough for Mpuuga who asked for and was able to get more. He used his office to enlarge his coffers and pockets. That’s why Bobi Wine calls him out and says his wrong, which he should. Bobi Wine is being responsible as a leader and as guardian of the principles, which the NUP party is founded upon. Therefore, Mpuuga has betrayed those and should act accordingly.

Third:

9. We believed that as a Party that nominated Hon. Mpuuga to the position of Leader of the Opposition, we should have been consulted on a matter of this magnitude. Indeed, I regularly speak with Hon. Mpuuga on most major issues. But I also learnt about this matter on social media and initially dismissed it as fake propaganda. I couldn’t believe that my Deputy President would get involved in a matter of this gravity and not say anything about it- not least, to me. When asked why he didn’t discuss this with the Party (or at least the President), he said it was a matter of personal finance! Really?” (Bobi Wine, 02.03.2024).

This reveals a side of Mpuuga that we have no access too. That he could say such a thing about government funds becoming accessible to Mpuuga. It was a way of him of vindicating himself and take away the “problematic” nature of the transaction. Mpuuga knows deep down it is wrong and that’s why it became a “personal finance”. When does a “service award” given without merits or proper justification become personal? It is public funds given to a representative and a part of national legislature. That isn’t a private matter, but a public one from the onset. Which shows how conning Mpuuga have become and what lengths his willing to go for his own interests.

Last point from Bobi Wine:

For these reasons, we believe that this was an extreme act of corruption which Hon. Mpuuga admitted initially and apologized for! It is on record. It was both illegal and immoral, no matter how many heavy words are used to justify it.The moral thing for him to do would be to apologize to the nation and step down from the Parliamentary Commission. That remains his choice” (Bobi Wine, 02.03.2024).

We know now after the interview earlier in the day that Mpuuga will not step down, apologize or follow the recommended way forward. Mpuuga will defiantly stand in the way of the Party and act like his above it. He will only act or says he would if the representatives from the Kingdom of Baganda says so. Meaning the Katikkiro Charles Mayiga or the Kabaka says he should resign. Therefore, absolving himself from the party and only being a citizens under the banner of the King.

It is really telling that his not willing to adhere or follow instructions from the National Unity Platform. Just showing that he used it as a tool to elected and that he doesn’t value the party itself. It was just a necessary device to get him into Parliament in 2021. That’s all that it was worth for Mpuuga. Because, now that times are hard and his shady actions are revealed.

He goes under the skirt of Mengo, thinking it is the saving grace. Alas, his reputation and legacy is soiled. It is destroyed and the Party President further proves it. There is no justification for the “service award” and he should do the right thing. However, it is now proven that Mpuuga cannot do that and is a self-serving individual who only cares about his “personal finances”. Peace.

Marvin Saasi: Response to Rt. Hon. Mathias Mpuuga on his apparent involvement in Corruption & Abuse of Office (02.03.2024)

Opinion: Mpuuga’s defiance isn’t endearing

Now that Mathias Mpuuga MP has released his statement. It is clear that he will defy the recommendation and the request of the National Unity Platform (NUP) to step down as Parliamentary Commissioner after the revealed leaks of eating.

That eating his defending as “votes” and as “duties” or “voter funds” which is bound to the office that his residing in. Therefore, it isn’t unjust of him to get the additional funding or the “service awards” that been publicized.

Mpuuga MP wants the cake and eat it. He wants all the spoils and no scrutiny. Neither does he wants to follow Party Procedure or Protocol. That shows that his not adhering to the principles or the ideals of the NUP Party. As his message is that he intends to eat alone and gleefully, as it is part of programme of the Parliament, which is where he serves.

Mpuuga MP don’t mind that it has a bad aftertaste or is bitter. No, he intends to stay and deflect from the message of the NUP Party yesterday. Even making a mockery of it, as the document that was published wasn’t signed by anyone. Like that changes the message or the tone of the party. A party where he is the Deputy President of the Buganda Region and was the Leader of Opposition under.

Now he is willing to double-cross NUP for own personal gains. That’s the message I am getting. This from a man who has defiantly been in the trenches and fought as an activist in the past. The man that did that for A4C isn’t the same man today. Mpuuga has changed and not for the better. He intends to stay and reluctant to budge.

Mpuuga still haven’t answered directly about the “service award” or the ordeal itself. Seemingly deflecting the matter and calling it a “family affair” what is happening to him. Like we are supposed to think this is internal drama in the party and his the victim.

His a man who accepted the fate and the fat envelopes. A person who gladly enjoyed the perks and the institutionalized rot of the Parliament. Now that is being exposed and his one out of plenty who does it. Still, that doesn’t make it better… especially when he in his role should be a contrast to the Mabaati thieves and others who skim of the top. That’s what he did too and it’s wrong.

Mpuuga MP cannot hide behind beautiful and articulated English. No, his just a man who has been caught red-handed and doesn’t want to be held to account. He is fine doing the bidding and acting holier than though in regards to others. However, for himself… not so much and not even adhering to the plea of his party. That’s saying something.

This isn’t a good look. It isn’t just bad publicity. No this is self-destruction of character and all integrity.

Mathias Mpuuga seemed like a fella you could respect, but with time that all withered. He isn’t what it seems and he got corrupted. As a person, his not accepting it, but we all see it now.

There is nowhere for him to go now. He should have resigned and carried his load. However, he hope people forgets and that the Party won’t go after him. Peace.