MPs to get Shs190m each for vehicles

Posted on 30 May 2011. In 256news Tags: inflation, Ministry of Finance, MPs’ motor vehicle acquisition, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga

After the MPs demanded a pay raise to protect themselves from the biting inflation, it has also emerged that authorities in Parliament are quietly negotiating with officials in government to increase MPs’ motor vehicle acquisition fund from Shs60 million to Shs192 million.
Ms Justine Lumumba, the new Housing Minister and a former Parliamentary Commissioner, told reporters on Friday that the commission sanctioned a Shs190 million car grant for each MP. There are 375 MPs in the Ninth Parliament. This means taxpayers will have to fork out more than Shs71.2 billion to buy new vehicles for MPs. However, Ms Lumumba said the cost and the modalities will be subject to discussion with the Ministry of Finance.
“We are still in negotiation with Ministry of Finance… everything has gone up, prices have doubled and others even tripled. To get sound vehicles we need this money to facilitate members,” she said. “After our negotiations, a decision will be made whether to buy new cars for MPs or give them money to top-up.”
It has also emerged that Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and her deputy Jacob Oulanyah have already acquired brand new vehicles at Shs419 million each—replacing the old fleet. The vehicles were bought from Spear Motors. “The vehicles for the Speaker and Deputy were old and we needed to replace them,” Parliament’s Public Relations Officer Helen Kawesa said on Friday. “They were bought 10 years ago, they had mechanical problems and a decision was made to have these vehicles replaced.” She added: “We followed all the procurement rules and the process was transparent. This purchase started six months ago.”
Ms Kawesa said the old vehicles will be boarded off at an appropriate time. On the new vehicles for MPs, Ms Kawesa said: “Being a new Parliament, we normally give members money to acquire vehicles. In 2006 members bought vehicles at Shs60 million but because of inflation, the cost has since gone up. Five years is a long time. There is nothing sinister about the vehicles, we are going to follow the law and everything will be transparent.”
The car deal comes after Daily Monitor reported on Friday that a week after they were sworn-in, MPs demanded that government extends a Shs50 million advance to each of them among other proposals for an upward review in pay and a removal of taxes on cars which they will buy under the already generous motor vehicle loan scheme. MPs have also proposed their pay be increased from Shs15 million to Shs19 million.
On Thursday, the lawmakers chased away journalists and stopped coverage of a plenary debate where they reportedly agreed to push for a pay raise in a move, according to sources, which is intended to shield them from rising cost of living biting other Ugandans.
Ms Kawesa later cited sections of parliamentary rules that allow ejecting journalists if their presence during discussion will threaten national security. But when asked if indeed MPs’ pay is a matter of national security, Ms Kawesa replied: “MPs requested a closed session because there were issues they wanted to discuss. There was no mischief. It’s only that the new MPs wanted privacy. They were not comfortable with the presence of the press.”