MPs who used sh103m car cash in their constituencies

By Vision REporters

When MPs in the Ninth Parliament received sh103m to buy executive cars, they behaved like the proverbial servants in the parable of the talents.

Some blew the cash on cars, while others bought cars with some of it and saved the rest for their constituencies.New Vision brings you some of the MPs who invested part of the money in their constituencies.

Robert Migadde,Buvuma County

Migadde used sh72m to buy a car. He saved sh30m, with which he bought a speed boat for his constituents. The speedboat serves as an ambulance.

According to Migadde, there are 52 islands in Buvuma County, but only one of them has access to the mainland and the ferry.

There is no referral hospital in the district and before Migadde bought the boat, expectant mothers found it difficult to access the only referral hospital on the main land.

‘‘The ferry makes one route from Buvuma to the mainland. If you miss it, you wait until the following day,’’ he said.

The Government had given the island a speedboat to serve as an ambulance. However, residents say it was too expensive for them to afford.

Anybody who wanted to use the ambulance was reportedly asked to pay sh200,000 for fuel.

Those who could not afford it used the ferry. As a result, some patients died before getting to the health facilities.

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 The speed boat which Migadde bought for his constituents. Inset is Migadde’s picture

Betty Nambooze,
Mukono municipality Nambooze bought an ambulance worth sh58m and used the rest to buy a car.

She explained that she bought the ambulance to help expectant mothers who often found it difficult to get to hospitals.

“We have lost many mothers and babies during birth. The district does not have a hospital. We depend on Mulago, Nsambya and Mengo hospitals. Therefore, we need an ambulance on standby,” Nambooze said.

“The Government has put in place strategies to reduce maternal and infant mortality, but this cannot be achieved if there are no ambulances,’’she noted.

Veronica Babirye,Buyende Woman MP

Before she got the sh103m, Babirye had resolved that she would buy a car and save some money for development programmes in her constituency.

She bought the car and used some of the money to buy about 30,000 coffee seedlings, which she gave to farmers to boost the fight against poverty.

‘‘The people would have considered me extravagant if I had used all the money to buy a car, yet I had one,’’ Babirye stated.

She also used part of the money to sponsor the training of youth in life skills, especially in environmental conservation.

Some of the youth have now set up income generating projects, according to Babirye.

She also used the money to buy solar panels for the best performing schools in the district. These include Bulembo, Kidera and Namulicha primary schools. Others are Kidera SS and Brain Trust High School.

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MP Babirye (right) giving scholastic materials to students of Kidera Secondary School

John Bosco Mubiito,Budiope West

At 27 years, John Bosco Mubiito is one of the youngest legislators in the Ninth Parliament.

Mubiito gave some of the vehicle cash to churches. To him, this was a way of thanking God.

“In March, I invited clerics to a meeting at Buseete Primary School. I gave 90 religious institutions sh50,000 each to renovate and complete their church structures,’’ he said.

‘‘I also bought a car for Dison Bwire, the district education officer, to facilitate education activities,’’ Mabitto added.

Yona Musinguzi Bikwatzehi, Ntungamo municipality

Bikwatzehi used sh70m to buy a car and spent the rest on malaria testing kits, which he distributed to health centres in the municipality.

Bikwatzehi also bought malaria and tuberculosis drugs, which he distributed to 26 villages in Ntungamo municipality.

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   MP Bikwatzehi (in grey suit) handing over TB and antimalarial drugs to village health teams

Fredah Mubanda, Masaka Woman MP

She bought a personal car at sh22m and used the rest to support income-generating projects such as poultry and piggery in her constituency.

She also bought spray pumps for farmers.

Mubanda has funded youth development projects, especially bodaboda operators.

Stephen Tashobya,Kajara County

Tashobya used sh80m to buy a car and used the balance to buy generators and mattresses for Kitondo, Rukoni and Bwongyera health centres.

He said he spent some money on completing the gravity water flow scheme in the constituency.

Such initiatives have made Tashobya popular in the constituency and now voters refer to him as Tashie.

Naome Kabasharira,Ntungamo Woman MP

Kabasharira used sh60m to fund women’s projects in her constituency.

She also bought coffee seedlings, which she gave to widows and other needy persons.

Basis of Sh 103M

After assuming office, MPs in the Ninth Parliament started demanding for personal vehicles. Then information leaked that each MP wanted a vehicle worth sh103m. The public was not amazed because the project came at the time when the country was struggling with a high interest rate and souring inflation.

However, the public was surprised because both the opposition and the ruling NRM MPs supported the idea. The MPs were gradually given the money, which some have used for buying cars or on different projects. The MPs were not supposed to account for the cash.

Complied by John Semakula, Henry Nsubuga, Dismus Buregyeya, Rwambuka Mugisha and Tom Gwebayanga