This archive report was first published on 16 May 2020.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ordered an audit of the Ush10 billion ($2.6 million) allocated to legislators as part of the Covid-19 supplementary budget, despite earlier criticism of the allocation.
On April 28, President Museveni wrote to the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, instructing the Auditor-General to investigate how the funds were used.
‘I am requesting the Auditor General to audit this aspect, where the MPs became the ‘purchasing’ officers of the state and see whether their efforts were legal. I have asked him to conclude it in four weeks,’ said President Museveni.
The allocation of Ush10 billion ($2.6 million) to parliament was part of a Ush304 billion supplementary budget passed on April 8 to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Out of this figure, Ush20 million ($5,284) was allocated to each of the 458 legislators, who were expected to use the money to sensitize their constituents about the pandemic and for maintenance of ambulances in their constituencies.
However, President Museveni and the Cabinet insisted that the allocation was illegal and inappropriate, prompting a resolution by the MPs on May 9 condemning the Executive for ‘attacking the legislature and undermining its independence’.
As of April 12, 101 MPs had returned the allocated funds, totaling Ush2.029 billion ($536,142), leaving a balance of Ush7.971 billion ($2,106,257) still in the hands of legislators, according to the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG).
