Kampala, (UG):- In a whirlwind of events that has sent Ugandan citizens into a frenzy, shocking revelations have revealed that Uganda’s Parliament spent almost Shs 600m for the staycation holidays of Speaker Anita Among and her spouse Moses Magogo.
The exclusive report which first appeared on ChimpReports, a local online publication showed that out of the shs600m, Parliament allocated a whooping Shs 499m for Speaker Among’s official leave, while her spouse, Magogo who is also the President of Uganda’s Football Governing Body (FUFA) and MP for Budiope East received Shs 82m.
According to Parliament’s records, the transactions dated January 29, 2024, were marked as ‘payment of per diem (for both Among and Magogo) to Nairobi – Kenya for official leave.’ However, reports indicate that the couple did not travel to Nairobi for the annual leave.
When the publication contacted Among for a comment on Friday afternoon about the lavish expenditure, the Bukedea Woman MP said in brief; “Travelling with my spouse is my entitlement.”
Asked to respond to claims that she didn’t travel despite picking the large sums of money in per diem, Among observed: “Those are haters.”
Lavish expenses at expense of taxpayer’s money
The development comes at a time when the government is urging taxpayers to tighten their belts in the tough economic environment.
President Museveni last year ordered the government to stop foreign travel to avoid waste of public funds.
While commissioning facilities at Uganda Petroleum Institute-Kigumba (UPIK) in March 2023, Museveni noted: “Tell the civil servants, the MPs and all politicians to stop travelling abroad. Money is wasted on external travel and here Kigumba is crying for money. This is really poor planning.”
Speaker Among’s extravagant budget
The budget of the office of Speaker of Parliament office is Shs 13.1 billion this financial year (2024/25).
The Speaker also has a Shs 2.4bn donations budget while her per diem is $4,000 per day. On top of that, she is entitled to paid official leave abroad with her spouse for 60 days in a year.
The taxpayer buys Among and her spouse business class tickets and pays them the per diem rate for those days. Her fuel budget is over Shs 800m per annum.
Under the budgetary allocation, Shs 1bn is set aside for adverts and public relations, sh70m is for workshops, sh495m for staff training, sh547.2m for welfare and entertainment, sh16.8m for ICT services, sh9.6m for property management, sh143.1m for bedding, clothes and footwear, sh1.34b for inland travel and sh5.3b for travel abroad.
Efforts to reach out to Parliament’s Communications Director, Mr Chris Obore for a comment on the lavish expense were futile as he was unable to pick or return our repetitive calls.
Do you have a story or an opinion to share? Email us on: dailyexpressug@gmail.com Or follow the Daily Express on X Platform or WhatsApp for the latest updates.
