In what is being described as a justification that politics in impoverished Uganda pays, the country’s tax payers will spend tens of billions on the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among, and her deputy, Thomas Tayebwa, in the next financial year (FY2023-2024), figures from the recently passed budget have indicated.
Tax payers will give Speaker Among, the Bukedea District Woman MP, Shs13.1bn for her office and activities. These include entertainment, training of staff, welfare, entertainment, public relations and advertising, property management, and workshops. Part of the money will also be spent on beddings, clothes and footwear, fuel, inland and overseas travel, as well as donations.
Speaker Among and her office will use Shs5.3bn for travel abroad, Shs1.34b for inland travel, and Shs2.4bn for donations while Shs1bn will go to public relations and adverts.Shs804m will be spent on fuel, Shs495m on staff training, Shs547m to welfare and entertainment, while Shs143m will be spent on beddings, clothing and footwear.
Shs70m will go to workshops, Shs16.8m to ICT services, Shs9.6m to property management.
Deputy Speaker Tayebwa, the Ruhinda North MP, and his office will get Shs11.3bn for similar roles. Tayebwa will use Shs4.3bn for overseas travel, Shs1.79bn for donations, Shs1.3bn for inland travel and Shs852m for fuel. He will spend Shs922m on adverts and public relations, Shs455m on welfare and entertainment, Shs495m for staff training and Shs117m for bedding, clothes and footwear. Shs70m will be spent on workshops while Shs16m will be for provision of ICT services.
It should be remembered that leaders of a poor Uganda keep getting billions for functions like clothes and entertainment as the country’s debt burden rises above the national budget. Days ago, President Museveni was in the news after State House was allocated Shs350m to buy the president clothes. You can See Details of this story and How Museveni’s State House will spend hundreds of billions allocated to him next financial year Here and There.
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