Leader of Opposition (LOP) Joel Ssenyonyi has called on the public to engage in the debate regarding the ongoing preparations for regional parliamentary sittings, amidst allegations of tribalism.
In remarks made on Tuesday, Ssenyonyi urged Parliament to halt the arrangement, stating it does not reflect the needs of the populace and has since been labelled as tribalistic by some parliamentary members from the Northern Region.
Responding to these allegations, Ssenyonyi asserted that the move was simply to hold the sittings in the designated plenary and was not aimed at any particular region.
“When you see the poverty in some of these areas and then you’re telling the people that this Shs. 5 billion is just for a meeting, it doesn’t make sense surely, so they should stop trying to tribalize this because it’s not tribal at all. We are opposed to all regional sittings. What we are saying is, we can have our sitting here in the plenary and deliberate for Northern Uganda,” he emphasized.
Faith Nakut, the Woman Representative for Napak District in the Northern Region, opposed Ssenyonyi’s stance, arguing that his concerns about expenditure were misplaced.
“If he talks about the Shs20 billion against the Shs72 trillion budget that he is aware of, why can’t he examine the budget and look for where money can be saved? The question of saving costs shouldn’t even arise,” Nakut remarked.
She added, “Is it unfortunate that perhaps the regional sittings are going to start with Northern Uganda? I hope he would have said the same if the regional sittings were starting from another region. It isn’t right for someone to oppose everything. The affinity for relevance shouldn’t make us fail to think objectively. At least he should allow these sittings to go on; if there is a need to save, then he will save from the sittings in the next regions.”
Ssenyonyi maintained that their opposition would not be silenced, expressing hope that public engagement would grow.
“I’m glad that of late you’ve seen young people speaking out; they were protesting the other day peacefully. Speak out because this is your money. Our duty is to inform the public about what is happening, create awareness, and not tag this as another normal sitting without knowing what exactly is going to be spent so that you demand accountability,” he said.
He questioned the necessity of holding parliamentary sittings in different regions, arguing that issues could be addressed without the need for the extensive costs involved.
“Why couldn’t the issues be raised as opposed to spending over Shs 5 billion transporting all Members of Parliament, staff per diem for an entire week because of all the logistics, which didn’t make any business sense?” Ssenyonyi asked.
Ssenyonyi concluded that opposition to the regional sittings was not against any particular region, but rather a call for better allocation of funds.
“What do the people of Northern, Western, Eastern, and Central Uganda want? What do they really want if we were to ask them the ordinary folks that the Shs 5 billion is going to be spent on a meeting that is going to come to your place? What these people want is medicine in their referral hospitals and infrastructure that works,” he added.
There were reports yesterday of Ssenyonyi being sidelined, though it remains unclear whether he will ultimately respond to the call, especially given that he had received a letter from the Speaker informing him of the regional sittings and urging him to rally Opposition MPs to attend. Still, questions about the details of these sittings remain unanswered.
