Thank you Christine for your work. I would like to ask Christine Bako who is quoted in the article as saying *“You are talking about investing in jets? Come on!” exclaimed Christine Bako, a lawmaker from Ms. Anguko’s district, during a debate in Parliament. “This is now a matter of conscience.” w**hat she thinks of the fact that MPs are demanding shs 93 billion OR shs 240 million EACH grants (FREE MONEY) for purchasing cars on top of shs 19 million per month salary! * * * *http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/761583* ** DESPITE the biting economic difficulties, Members of Parliament want their car allowance revised from sh190m to sh240m each.
Sources at Parliament said the rise was proposed because the dollar is appreciating. “Today, a decent car for an MP costs about sh240m after taxes,” a source said. If the Parliamentary Commission okays the new figure, the Government will spend sh93b on cars for 376 MPs. However, there is fear in the House that the Ministry of Finance has not allocated money to Parliament for this financial year. According to records, MPs might have to wait for the next financial year to purchase the “much needed” cars. “The money has not been provided for by the finance ministry,” Parliament’s commissioner Emmanuel Dombo said on Thursday. When contacted, the Finance Ministry Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi, referred Saturday Vision to the Speaker or the premier’s office. The deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, said, “If it is not in the Policy Statement, but if Government is to provide the money, it will come in form of a grant.” MPs recently met and reportedly agreed to increase their salaries from sh15m to sh19m and buy cars, each at sh190m. The Parliament, this financial year is seeking sh211b for its activities. But the finance ministry rejected the figure saying it could only afford sh163b. In a letter to Parliament, Maria Kiwanuka explained: “Considering the resource constraints, only modest activities can be undertaken this financial year. I, therefore, recommend that the Commission programmes its development expenditure within the affordable resources,” she said. According to the work-plan for this financial year, Parliament plans to conduct 1,340 committee meetings, 38 field visits, 50 public hearings and write committee reports. Since the beginning of the 9th Parliament, sources said the MPs have been putting the commission under pressure to give them money for cars. The majority complain that they are tired of using boda bodas to Parliament. Due to the delay, several MPs have reportedly resorted to getting loans to purchase cars. Saturday Vision saw copies of some members who had applied for car loans. Dombo said some of the cars acquired by MPs have even broken down. “Some members have even had accidents because of boda bodas. So they need the cars,” Dombo said. Dombo, however, noted that Parliament is facing a challenge on whether to demand for billions of shillings to purchase MPs’ cars or ignore teachers call for pay raise. “This is addition of demanding for money despite the economic hardships. It is a challenge. Teachers are on strike. The inflation is high. When we say we want the cars, the public will say we are selfish, yet we need transport to legislate for our people,” Dombo said. On Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 9:48 AM, Christine Munduru <cmund...@gmail.com>wrote: > > ** ** > > ** ** > > **** > > http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/30/world/africa/30uganda.html?hpw**** > > **** > > **** > > > > _______________________________________________ > WestNileNet mailing list > WestNileNet@kym.net > http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet > > WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > All Archives can be found at > http://www.mail-archive.com/westnilenet@kym.net/ > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. > _______________________________________________ > >
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