Editorial
August 8, 2003
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The First Lady Janet Museveni is seeking Shs 200 million to erect a fence around her new office block. The sum is on top of the Shs 240 spent on the property’s acquisition and an extra Shs 200 spent on renovation. The total amount of taxpayers’ money to be spent on the office block on Malcolm X Avenue in Kololo is thus Shs 640 million. Members on Parliament’s Committee on Presidential and Foreign Affairs queried the expenditure when they met the Minister in Charge of the Presidency, Hajji Kirunda Kivejinja, on Wednesday. Kivejinja and his team had come to defend their 2003/2004 budget estimates and policy statement. We share the MPs’ concern at this expenditure. Not only is the figure outrageous, we believe the purpose for which it is being sought is not a priority given the country’s financial constraints. Besides, the first lady’s office is not known to be a constitutional office. Some headed papers marked “Office of the First Lady” have been cited, but we cannot help wondering from where such an office derives its authority. We appreciate the commendable role played by Ms Janet Museveni, especially in the area of orphans, women and HIV/Aids, but we must point out that it is not necessary to institutionalise that role. The first lady operates under State House or President’s Office by virtue of being the President’s wife. We do not, therefore, expect her to consume such a sizeable chunk of cash. Besides, we do not think there is need for a separate office block for the first lady other than the facilities already available in State House and the President’s Office. We also wonder why it is necessary for the first lady to have an office block at this stage when she has been able to work so effectively without one for 17 years! And what happens to the “Office of the First Lady” when we get a President who has no wife or we get a female President? The lavish culture of spending taxpayers’ money on public officials when critical areas that directly affect the common person such as health are relegated to the periphery must end. The irony of this case is that MPs querying the office block for the first lady are themselves demanding up to Shs 576 million in pension every year from the taxpayer! Who will save the taxpayer? |
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
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