With the back bench Commissioner case taking forever to be resolved by the constitutional court panel of 5 judges, it is a siesta and heist at the now NRM dominated Parliamentary Commission, this website exclusively understands.
Inside sources privy to Commission activities say moments after president Museveni foiled plans of the head of the Commission Speaker Anita Among to elevate the salary pay by 15-20% for all MPs, members who sit on this parliament top organ opted to chip off a whooping amount tallied at UGX 30b to procure a fleet of Toyota Landcruiser V8 series vehicles.
It is said the vehicles have already been purchased from a local Nakawa based car bond importer. Amounting to at least 15 vehicles of the latest 2021 model, the speaker has reportedly awarded herself 3 of the vehicles, her deputy Thomas Tayebwa walked off with 2, while the Leader of Opposition Rt. Hon. Mathias Mpuuga has been rewarded 2, 1 to the opposition chief whip and the rest distributed to other members of the Parliamentary Commission save for the opposition Commissioner Zaake Francis whose fate is yet to be determined by the constitutional court.
Parliament sources say they have in the recent days seen some of the brand new Toyota Landcruiser V8 series vehicles parking at the precincts of Parliament.
A source inside the office of the Leader of Opposition revealed to this reporter that their boss has disapproved the idea and has already declined to use the vehicles in fear of being attacked by NUP social media activists. “We are aware of the vehicles procured by the Parliamentary Commission. But we are still studying the procurement process to see if it met the protocol,” the source who asked not to be quoted says.
The saga comes barely months after Among and her deputy imported brand new Mercedes-Benz series vehicles from the United Kingdom. The procurement process is said to have been illegally made, and whistle-blowers who leaked this information to media were eventually sacked on the orders of the speaker.
Since Zaake’s censure as Commissioner, Among and the entire Commission have indulged in a series of controversies the latest being the illegal recruitment of 49 relatives of Commissioners and Ministers for parliament jobs. Zombo woman MP Esther Afoyo-Chan reaped big from the latest recruitment with 5 of her relatives being amongst the 49 to be recruited by the speaker.
As always when contacted for a comment, the head of Parliament public relations office Chris Obore, a staunch ally of the speaker declined to pick or return calls.
