At a time when millions are crying out for not being able to work due to the Covid-19 Lockdown, a section of Members of Parliament have complained over being paid operational allowances on top of their basic salary yet they are not working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MPs earn 11 million shillings as basic salary per month which after statutory deductions including tax comes to over 6 million shillings. The rest of the money, between 15 and 20 million shillings untaxed, is operational allowances. These include allowances for sitting in committees, town running and mileage (fuel).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However parliament was closed like all other offices for lockdown, and the Parliament premises were actually closed for two week for fumigation. Clerk to Parliament Jane Kibirige as accounting officer specifically reminded MPs that they are not supposed to be working and should not go to the House except for private purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now through the Government Assurances Committee, MPs have questioned why they are being paid all the allowances on top of the basic salary and yet they are not working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mukono Municipality MP, Betty Nambonze told a press briefing that paying the 529 MP operational allowances while knowing very well that they are not working amounts to theft of public funds. She insists that allowances for holding meetings during this time when meetings are banned for health reasons is blatant theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was supported by her Kalungu West counterpart Joseph Ssewungu. Sewungu said that the very government that has not appointed members of the ruling party to committees knows very well that the committees can not possibly be not sitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nambooze said that curiously, the allowances are paid in advance, before the MPs do any work for the month. In other words, one is paid without knowing whether they work. She claims Uganda is the only country which pays such full time workers in advance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At a time when millions are crying out for not being able to work due to the Covid-19 Lockdown, a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[66,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-national-news","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/download.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1171,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/can-mps-discuss-stimulus-instead-of-nssf\/","url_meta":{"origin":3593,"position":0},"title":"Can’t MPs fight for all workers besides NSSF?","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"May 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Special Correspondent Workers\u2019 MP Sam Lyomoki has issued a passionately combative statement in support of paying 20% of NSSF savings to savers who have attained the age of 45 years, and also calling on members to be \u2018vigilant\u2019 as parliament debates the amendment of the Fund\u2019s Act which is before\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ELZfxb3X0AAwvV-.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ELZfxb3X0AAwvV-.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ELZfxb3X0AAwvV-.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ELZfxb3X0AAwvV-.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3737,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/mps-just-missed-seeing-the-big-elephant-in-a-small-room\/","url_meta":{"origin":3593,"position":1},"title":"MPs Just Missed Seeing The Big Elephant in a Small Room","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"July 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Kalule Kalungi The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed most people who do not want to perish or stagnate to think outside the box. Our 11th\u00a0Parliament was born during the pandemic and started work with the second lockdown. You can thus expect the MPs to see that there is a big\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/jacob-aoulanyah.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/jacob-aoulanyah.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/jacob-aoulanyah.jpg 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7523,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/members-parliament-call-for-improved-funding-to-ugandas-foreign-missions\/","url_meta":{"origin":3593,"position":2},"title":"Members of Parliament call for improved funding to Uganda’s foreign missions","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"December 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Fred Opolot, said that the foreign service allowance paid to officers has hardly been adequate to meet the increasing cost of living. He added that the rates were last revised in 2009. \u201cThe Ministry of Finance should review and consider the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Speaker-Anita-Among-1.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Speaker-Anita-Among-1.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Speaker-Anita-Among-1.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Speaker-Anita-Among-1.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Speaker-Anita-Among-1.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":884,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/will-you-vote-an-mp-who-charges-their-spouse-for-sex\/","url_meta":{"origin":3593,"position":3},"title":"Will you vote an MP who \u201ccharges their spouse for sex\u201d?","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Uganda\u2019s most quoted commentator and presidential adviser TamaleMirundi, at the start of the Corona lockdown, made this assessment ofthe country\u2019s members of parliament: \u201cBecause they insist on thepresident first paying them before they pass any importantlegislation, our MPs act exactly like a married woman who sellskaboozi (sex) to her husband.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "OPINION"","block_context":{"text":"OPINION","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/opinion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/This-Is-Exactly-How-Long-Women-Want-Sex-to-Last_565980976_Jacob-Lund-1024x683-1.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/This-Is-Exactly-How-Long-Women-Want-Sex-to-Last_565980976_Jacob-Lund-1024x683-1.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/This-Is-Exactly-How-Long-Women-Want-Sex-to-Last_565980976_Jacob-Lund-1024x683-1.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/This-Is-Exactly-How-Long-Women-Want-Sex-to-Last_565980976_Jacob-Lund-1024x683-1.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12630,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/sigh-of-relief-for-mpuuga-and-other-parliament-commissioners-as-high-court-rules-shs1-7-billion-service-award-was-legally-given\/","url_meta":{"origin":3593,"position":4},"title":"Sigh Of Relief For Mpuuga And Other Parliament Commissioners As High Court Rules Shs1.7 billion Service Award Was Legally Given","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"August 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Parliament's Commissioners have got off the hook after the High Court has ruled that the Shs1.7 billion Service Award given to them was lawfully approved by Parliament and provided for in the institution's budget . However ,Justice Douglas Karekona Singiza of the High Court\u2019s Civil Division who heard the case\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Court"","block_context":{"text":"Court","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/court\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/OIP-3.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8756,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/electoral-commission-asks-parliament-for-ug-shs-80bn-to-conduct-women-and-lc-elections\/","url_meta":{"origin":3593,"position":5},"title":"Electoral Commission asks Parliament for Ug.Shs.80bn to conduct women and LC elections","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As the current term of the LC s 1 and 2 comes to an end on July 14th 2023, the Electoral Commission Chairman , Justice Simon Byabakama, has asked Parliament to appropriate an additional 60.88 billion shillings to conduct elections for the lower councils throughout the country . Byabakama also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Elections"","block_context":{"text":"Elections","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/elections\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/EC2-640x375-1.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/EC2-640x375-1.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/EC2-640x375-1.jpg 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-VX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3593"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3595,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3593\/revisions\/3595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}