NORTHERN UGANDA MPS SLAM LOP BOYCOTT OF REGIONAL PARLIAMENT SITTINGS

NILE POST

Members of Parliament from Northern Uganda have criticised the Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, for announcing a boycott of the upcoming regional Parliament sittings scheduled to be held in Gulu City.

The legislators argued that the Shs 20 billion budgeted for these sittings is a small amount compared to the overall Shs 72 trillion budget approved for the 2024/25 fiscal year.

During a press briefing at Parliament, they expressed their frustrations with Ssenyonyi, accusing him of opposing initiatives without considering the benefits.
They questioned why he was concerned about what they considered necessary expenditure, especially since the funds are allocated to committees for oversight purposes.

Judith Alyek, Kole District Woman MP, questioned Ssenyonyi's stance."Where is the wastage that the Leader of the Opposition is talking about? This is Committees' money, not his money, not even the Speaker’s money. It has been approved in the budget. So what is his problem?"she asked.

Faith Nakut, Napak District Woman MP, accused Ssenyonyi of seeking relevance at every opportunity and questioned his commitment to addressing issues in Northern Uganda. "At least he should allow these sittings to go on. If there is a need to save, then he can save from the sittings in the next regions," she said.

Nakut further argued that questioning the expenditure is misguided and suggested that opposing these sittings amounts to blackmailing voters. She added, "Even if he talks about Shs 20 billion, that money will be spent even if we sat here [in Kampala]."

Anthony Akol, Kilak North MP, described Ssenyonyi's remarks as unfortunate and expressed disappointment. He noted that the regional sittings would give people in Northern Uganda a rare opportunity to see their MPs in action, unlike those in Central and Western Uganda who have greater access to televised proceedings.

Akol emphasized that this is a regular parliamentary sitting, simply relocated to a different region, and questioned why Ssenyonyi wasn’t similarly critical of sittings in Kampala. "It is a normal sitting, taken to the people who voted for us, and we are against that decision of the Leader of the Opposition," he said.

In response, Ssenyonyi urged the MPs from Northern Uganda not to tribalize the issue, arguing that if they were genuinely concerned about poverty in their region, they would support reallocating the Shs 5 billion planned for the meeting to improve services instead.

Opposition legislators announced on Tuesday their intention to boycott the parliamentary regional sittings scheduled to commence at the end of August, citing concerns over resource wastage. “As the shadow cabinet, we have decided that it is problematic for us in the Opposition to be part of such an arrangement because we have not been brought on board; we are in the dark. The expenditure is difficult for us to explain to the public,” said Ssenyonyi.

Ssenyonyi revealed that he wasn’t consulted about parliament having regional sittings, implying that the organizers of the sittings have their own hidden agenda.
“All these things are happening secretively; we don’t know. The commission is not sitting to discuss these matters. It clearly shows you that there is more than meets the eye,” he said, adding that “we should discuss these matters.”

“That is why you hear a section of the public saying that maybe this [regional sittings] is another plot to account for money that is being stolen.” In May 2024, Speaker Anita Annet Among announced plans to hold sittings in four different regions of Uganda, a move apparently intended to bring parliament closer to the populace.

The development came after consideration of the Sh72.130 trillion national draft budget.

Speaker Among said some people watch legislators on television and want to meet them physically. “There are some people who look at us on cameras; they have never seen us; they look at Theodore Ssekikubo, but they want to see Ssekikubo physically,” she said.

Among also believes the regional sittings offer parliament an opportunity to witness first-hand the challenges facing ordinary people across the country. “Let’s go to the people, and if we are going to see a region like Gulu, we must capture everything that affects the northern region, and we must discuss those issues,” she added.

The inaugural Northern regional sitting will take place on August 29 and 30 at Kaunda Playgrounds in Gulu City's Bardege-Layibi Division. Other sittings are expected to take place in Mbarara, Masaka, and Mbale.