Many Ugandans see the car loan as a blatant abuse of tax payers’ money.
The Constitutional Court has dismissed an application seeking for a temporary order to block the impending purchase of vehicles for each Member of Parliament, a venture that will cost the taxpayers a minimum of Shs64b.
Uganda Radio Network reports that Sanywa Twaha a concerned citizen’ had applied for interim orders stopping the payment claiming that unless the court intervened and stopped wiring of the money into each MPs bank account, taxpayers were most likely to suffer as resources are drained from the consolidated fund.
However, his petition was dismissed by Justice Richard Buteera in a ruling read out for him by deputy registrar Rosemary Bareebe.
He observed that it was not necessary to issue a temporary injunction stopping the Parliamentary Commission from wiring money to MPs’ accounts to buy cars since the same money could be recovered if court later found out that it was illegally paid out.
Waste of money?
With 22 new districts expected to be created between 2016 and 2019, the additional 22 MPs will require an extra Shs3.3 billion for their vehicles, raising taxpayers expenditure on MPs cars from about Shs40b (Shs103m each) in 9th Parliament to nearly Shs70b in the 10th Parliament.
MPs in the 10th Parliament are pocketing more money for cars because of the appreciating dollar rate. Each MP will pocket Shs 150m,up from Shs 10m in the 9th Parliament, and will be at liberty to buy a car of their choice.
Recently the issue of the car grant had put Parliament at loggerheads with the Executive after it emerged that the Ministry of Finance excluded the Shs64.05 billion for the MPs’ vehicles in the 2015/16 Budget on grounds that the Parliamentary Commission had “overshot” its budget ceiling.
There has been public backlash towards MPs receiving money to buy vehicles, with many saying the legislators should be able to buy their own cars off their salaries.
Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda executive director Cissy Kagaba referred to the increase as a blatant abuse of tax payers’ money.
“Who actually monitors whether these guys actually buy cars worth that much?” Ms Kagaba said.
She added that the money could be a move to help the legislators offset debts they amassed during the campaign period.
