A section of Opposition Members of Parliament has returned monies deposited to their individual accounts by parliament for consultation on the proposed ‘Age Limit’ Bill. Led by the Opposition Whip Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the group of six assembled 174 million Shillings before the media at Parliament and later presented it to Ismael Lesin, a junior accountant in the office in charge of refunds at Parliament.
Those that have returned the money include Soroti Woman MP Angelline Osegge, Butambala County MP Muwanga Kivumbi, Busongora North MP William Nzoghu, Busiro East MP Medard Lubega Seggona and Rubaga North MP Moses Kasibante. The Opposition in Parliament is composed of 58 members.
On October 23, Parliament released 29 million Shillings for each Member of Parliament to help them consult on the proposed ‘Age Limit’ Bill. A total of 13 billion Shillings has so far been released to cater for consultations on the Constitutional Amendment that seeks to among others, lift the cap on the presidential age.
Ssemujju questioned why a Private Member’s Bill is costing the taxpayer a lot of money when other bills processed by parliament are not accorded the same treatment.
“Part of the reason private members are not ordinarily allowed to present business to parliament is that you must avoid unnecessary costs. And that is why it is a requirement that to move a bill of that nature, you must along with it table a certificate of financial implication,” Ssemujju said.
Ssemujju added that before the money reached their accounts, President Yoweri Museveni coached MPs from the ruling NRM party on how it should be used during consultations.
