Opposition MPs irked by extra sh153b for CHOGM
Aug 30, 2007
OPPOSITION MPs are disgruntled with the approval of sh153b extra funds to prepare for the Commonwealth meeting. They said there was no consensus and accused the Speaker, Edward Ssekandi, of stifling debate on the matter.
By Cyprian Musoke
OPPOSITION MPs are disgruntled with the approval of sh153b extra funds to prepare for the Commonwealth meeting. They said there was no consensus and accused the Speaker, Edward Ssekandi, of stifling debate on the matter.
Parliament voted on Tuesday to approve the funds despite stiff resistance from opposition MPs, who later walked out of the House in protest.
The motion, that was brought to the House last Thursday, attracted heated debate, prompting a special committee to be set up to scrutinise the proposal, and report to Parliament.
All the four opposition MPs on the committee declined to sign the report, after disagreeing with NRM members. They were Uduman Okello, Okello Okello, Elijah Okupa, and Matiya Nsubuga.
The opposition chief whip, Kassiano Wadri, yesterday told a press conference that the committee did not meet on Friday because the chairperson was out of town.
“When the meeting finally convened on Monday, barely a day to the reporting date, minister Isaac Musumba walked in uninvited contrary, to our rules of procedure.
“The committee was even divided on how to proceed in the presence of the minister, and a vote was taken in his presence.â€
Wadri said their requests for accountability for the sh80b spent last financial year and the justification for the sh153.08b to be spent in the next two months was rejected by the NRM MPs.
The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Prof. Ogenga Latigo, said the Speaker had developed a habit of referring opposition MPs to the Constitutional Court whenever a controversial decision was taken in the House.
“In his deeper conscience, he knows something wrong is happening. We are setting a bad precedence since the budgetary process will be abused every time the Government wants money for this or that.â€
Wadri and Latigo accused the Government of approving the money illegally, saying the resolution flouted the three constitutionally recognised ways of accessing money from the Consolidated Fund.
“The three ways are vote on account, appropriation, and supplementary appropriation. The government proposal did not fall in any of these categories,†said Latigo.
“Contrary to the rules, the Speaker put the matter to vote without debate on the report that was presented, which was “absolutely abnormal and unfortunateâ€, the MPs said.
“The opposition was irregularly denied the opportunity of legitimate debate, explaining why many members walked out in discontent. We are exploring means of restoring sanity in the budgetary process,†they said.
They, however, clarified that they would still support the country in hosting CHOGM.
OPPOSITION MPs are disgruntled with the approval of sh153b extra funds to prepare for the Commonwealth meeting. They said there was no consensus and accused the Speaker, Edward Ssekandi, of stifling debate on the matter.
Parliament voted on Tuesday to approve the funds despite stiff resistance from opposition MPs, who later walked out of the House in protest.
The motion, that was brought to the House last Thursday, attracted heated debate, prompting a special committee to be set up to scrutinise the proposal, and report to Parliament.
All the four opposition MPs on the committee declined to sign the report, after disagreeing with NRM members. They were Uduman Okello, Okello Okello, Elijah Okupa, and Matiya Nsubuga.
The opposition chief whip, Kassiano Wadri, yesterday told a press conference that the committee did not meet on Friday because the chairperson was out of town.
“When the meeting finally convened on Monday, barely a day to the reporting date, minister Isaac Musumba walked in uninvited contrary, to our rules of procedure.
“The committee was even divided on how to proceed in the presence of the minister, and a vote was taken in his presence.â€
Wadri said their requests for accountability for the sh80b spent last financial year and the justification for the sh153.08b to be spent in the next two months was rejected by the NRM MPs.
The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Prof. Ogenga Latigo, said the Speaker had developed a habit of referring opposition MPs to the Constitutional Court whenever a controversial decision was taken in the House.
“In his deeper conscience, he knows something wrong is happening. We are setting a bad precedence since the budgetary process will be abused every time the Government wants money for this or that.â€
Wadri and Latigo accused the Government of approving the money illegally, saying the resolution flouted the three constitutionally recognised ways of accessing money from the Consolidated Fund.
“The three ways are vote on account, appropriation, and supplementary appropriation. The government proposal did not fall in any of these categories,†said Latigo.
“Contrary to the rules, the Speaker put the matter to vote without debate on the report that was presented, which was “absolutely abnormal and unfortunateâ€, the MPs said.
“The opposition was irregularly denied the opportunity of legitimate debate, explaining why many members walked out in discontent. We are exploring means of restoring sanity in the budgetary process,†they said.
They, however, clarified that they would still support the country in hosting CHOGM.