Ambitious Speaker of Parliament Kadaga Forces Some MPs to Swallow What They Had Vomited, As Shs 20M Returned By Them Will Be Sent Back to Their District Covid-19 Task Force.

              Speaker Rebecca Kadaga.

Parliament has decided to send the Shs20m COVDI-19 money returned by Members of Parliament (MP) to their respective District Task Forces to serve its intended purpose.

While communicating to the house on Tuesday morning, the Speaker noted that the decision has been taken by the Parliamentary Commission not to return the money to the government coffers as it was imagined by a section of members of the Public and some MPs.

Since last week, a number of legislators have returned the Shs20m that was disbursed to MPs’ accounts.

Some of the Members of Parliament that have so far returned the money include; Masaka Municipality MP, Matias Mpuuga, Nyabuzo County MP, Col. Fred Mwesigye, Sheema District Woman MP, Jacklet Atuhairwe, Mityana Municipality MP, Francis Zaake and Kyadondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu.

These have cited several reasons as to why they have chosen to return the money instead of sharing it with their constituents.

Commenting on their action, the Speaker noted that the returned money will not be kept by the Parliamentary Commission but will be put to its purpose.

I have heard that there are members who would like to return the Shs20m, I want to inform you that anyone who returns that money, we shall actually give it to your district, so no money will remain here, if you bring it we shall take it to your district taskforce because it was given for that specific purpose, Kadaga said.

The Shs20m that was given out to each legislator was part of the Shs10bn that Parliament allocated to the Parliamentary Commission during the passing of the Shs304bn Supplementary Budget for the fight against COVID-19.

This reallocation has caused mixed reactions among members of the public most of whom have condemned the action and have accused legislators of high levels of greed at a moment when their electorate are suffering due to the lockdown.

However, some MPs have defended the move saying they are close to their constituents who are constantly demanding relief items and are well positioned to serve them better.

Last week, The Speaker informed members that a decision had been reached during a meeting with the President and the Prime Minister that the Shs 20M be used only for interventions to support the national response to Covid-19 and that accountability must be produced.