Museveni rubbishes Kadaga in leaked Letter about the 20m MP saga
Uganda president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has rubbished Speaker Kadaga over Ug shs 10bn given to MPs to sensitise Ugandans about Covid-19.
President Museveni wrote a letter on 28th April, 2020, to the Speaker of Parliament expressing how MPs were trying to challenge his power.
“I am writing to you in the matter of the Shs20 million per a member of Parliament which parliament diverted from the government plan to another purpose,” the president writes.
“First of all, this is unconstitutional… the president, through the ministers responsible, submits plan for expenditure to parliament and, then, parliament reshuffles the priorities and creates its own against the plan of the president.”
While it’s okay for parliament to approve or disapprove his decisions, Museveni says, this should be after a discussion so there is room for logical engagement.
“… for parliament to unilaterally reshuffle the priorities of the government, it means that there is no need to have the president and the executive branch of government,” reads the letter.
The president remarked that the parliament intends to become both the executive and the legislature.
Mr Museveni warned the speaker not to do the same again.
“Indeed I have discussed with you this matter a number of times,” he writes.
MPs took the decision to allocate themselves funds sparked a storm, with the public questioning their priorities considering the financial crisis the country had plunged into.
Many MPs are on pressure from thier voters as they question them about the 20m cash bonanza.
However, political analysts have argued that the president was trying to acquire political capital, considering the State House had also received billions of shillings in supplementary funding.
Despite the directive by Michael Elubu, the high court judge, Kadaga maintained her stance, rallying legislators to follow her instructions and spend the 20m citing the constitution.
Currently Uganda’s parliament is divided into two groups those believing in Speaker Rebecca Kaddaga who are against returning the 20m and those believing in president Museveni, willing to return the 20m.
