The Alliance for National Transformation party (ANT) has commended the individuals responsible for organizing an online exhibition that has exposed corruption in the Ugandan Parliament.
On February 26, a group of activists led by renowned professor Jim Spire Ssentongo initiated an online exhibition on X formally Twitter after an online poll revealed 95% of final results in favor of exhibiting the Parliament and its members.
Dubbed #UgandaParliamentExhibition, the hashtag has since exposed corruption, nepotism, and mismanagement of the nation’s affairs, leaving Ugandans in shock and questioning the credibility of an institution supposed to be accountable for state matters.
Among the significant revelations are the Speaker’s $4000 per diem while abroad, the allocation of public resources for private gain using a public office, expensive meetings, conferences, and workshops attended by several members, along with several junior staff of parliament who receive money on behalf of the speaker.
Furthermore, the 2023 Auditor General’s report indicated that UGX 19 billion was lying idle in the parliamentary commission’s accounts, while critical sectors like education and health are underfunded, leaving struggling Ugandans without adequate services. Taxpayers are demanding value for their money.
Speaking at a press conference at the party headquarters in Bukoto on Wednesday, Gerald Karuhanga, the party spokesperson, applauded the front liners of this exhibition and called upon other members of the public to be vigilant and vocal about injustices and corruption in the country.
Karuhanga also called for an independent forensic and value-for-money audit of Parliament since it is one of the arms of government and a public, not a private institution.
“We want to see a parliament audit independent commission installed so that members of the public get to know who embezzle and misuse their taxes, and at the end of the day, they should face the law,” Karuhanga asserted.
In her remarks, former woman legislator of Kasese, Winnie Kiiza, called for a constitutional review to trim the powers of certain individuals, stating that this would help address the challenges of multiparty dispensation.
“In regards to what is happening in parliament recently, we can do an amendment in the constitution to ensure that the right things are done the right way in the right places. I call upon the citizens to hold their leaders accountable and ensure that only proper leaders who can stand up in times of hardship are the ones that come to parliament,” Kiiza emphasized.
On the independence of the speaker, Kiiza highlighted that this isn’t visible anywhere, as the current speaker belongs to the ruling party, leading to problems in determining the checks and balances that must be applicable.
“The president determining who becomes a speaker is problematic because it gives these individuals too much power, which later becomes difficult for fellow members to scrutinize them in case of any pressing issue,” she further emphasized.
Regarding the controversial Luzira land, counsel Safina Sebagala called upon the constitutional court to urgently process the succession register case brought before it so that the ruling helps to benefit those being coerced by the government while relocating the prison.
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