Each MP to get UGX200m, Down from UGX321m for Brand new car

Government has cut by UGX121 million the amount of money the Parliamentary Commission had requested in its budget for the Financial Year 2021/2022 to purchase new cars for Members of the 11^th Parliament.

The Parliamentary Commission had requested for UGX321 million as motor vehicle facilitation to each of the 529 MPs that will sit in the 11^th Parliament which gets to work next month. The total amount would be up to about UGX16.98 billion.

This drastic change, which will be a blow to some of the MPs who had already planned to buy expensive vehicles, was presented in the Budget Committee of Parliament by Finance Minister Matia Kasaija while defending UGX3.48 trillion corrigenda to the UGX41.29 trillion budget estimates for the Financial Year 2021/2022 budget tabled early this month.

In the UGX3.48 trillion, the Minister included a total additional budget of 133.6 billion to the Parliamentary Commission. This includes UGX13.61 billion for office space for the new MPs and UGX 10b as funding for the Parliamentary Institute.  

The additional budget of UGX3.48 trillion now increased the total resource envelope to UGX44.77 trillion which is also subject to change until the appropriation bill is passed.

This additional allocation to the Parliamentary Commission has seen an increase in the Institution’s budget from 698.3 billion to 831.9 billion.

Asked to explain the reduction in the allocation of money for the MPs’ cars, Kasaija passed this to his Junior Minister for Planning David Bahati who revealed that the figure of UGX200 million was agreed upon during a meeting with the Parliamentary Commission.

“I also sit in the Parliamentary Commission and this is the amount that we agreed upon. We have been looking for resources but they are not available,” Bahati said.

Committee Chairperson Amos Lugoloobi who is one of the MPs who won re-election wondered why the government cannot come up with a harmonized policy on the kind of cars officials like Ministers, MPs and top civil servants should be cruising in.

Amos Lugoloobi, the Budget Committee Chairperson said that a similar policy for all public servants regarding purchase of cars should be developed.

 “I was in Kenya and I saw that the government officials are no longer driving these Mpenkoni (term used to refer to expensive rides) of UGX700 million. They are driving small vehicles. So, if you are cutting the money for MPs cars why can’t the government come up with a policy that we all drive cars of UGX200 million. The roads in Bunyoro are now tarmac, so Minister why would you need Mpenkoni?” Lugoloobi asked.

Weighing on the same matter, Kumi County MP Charles Illukor said that the government has ignored the current policy that stipulates the type of cars that different government officers are supposed to drive. He said that this has always been an oversight queried in the Auditor General’s reports every year because he finds variations in the type of cars being driven by the officials versus the recommended engine size.

“Look at the Auditor General’s report for the previous three years. He has highlighted that the policy is there for which car and its capacity but it is being violated. The policy stipulated even the fuel consumption rate of the cars but it is being abused. But you haven’t addressed this” Ilukol said.

The MPs did not however open up a discussion on whether they will accept the proposed allocation of UGX200 million similar to the one they received in their bank accounts in 2016 or they will take the matter to the full house for appropriation of the initial UGX321 million.

Minister Kasaija said that his Ministry will need Parliament’s support to ensure that a similar policy on vehicles is adopted. Kasaija also avoided discussion on the MPs vehicles but instead proposed a policy that will ensure vehicles driven by government officials be leased from car bonds.

“I think in this committee or in another committee, we talked about the issue of buying vehicles. Instead of buying vehicles for government officials, we hire or lease the vehicles” the Minister said.

Other Allocations in the Additional Budget

Besides Parliament, the government has also allocated additional funding to the Judiciary totaling 152 billion Shillings for recruitment, roll out of the Electronic Court Case Management Information System and purchase of transport equipment for Judicial Officers.

Also provided is UGX60 billion to the Electoral Commission (EC) to facilitate the relocation of its Headquarters, UGX2.07 billion for the census under the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), UGX4.5 billion under the Ministry of Public Service to cater for payment of emoluments to former leaders, UGX7.6 billion under the Ministry of Finance for Subscriptions to African Development Bank (ADB) and Islamic Development Bank and UGX2.59 billion to the Leadership Code Tribunal.

This additional budget includes the UGX480 billion the government is borrowing to procure Covid-19 vaccines.

The corrigenda which will be funded by UGX2.88 trillion of external financing carries in it; and increase in Interest Payments worth UGX143.4 billion and UGX22 billion allocated to Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC).