The Leader of the Opposition (LOP), Joel Ssenyonyi, claimed that Speaker Anita Annet Among had been excluding him from meetings of the Parliamentary Commission, of which he is a member. However, Parliament has denied his allegations.
“The Parliament commission has not held any meeting yet,” said Parliament’s spokesperson, Chris Obore when contacted by the media. Joel Senyonyi told the media today that she is afraid Speaker Among won’t represent her interests in certain commission meetings, particularly when there is a conflict of interest.
“They meet to award contracts in some cases where there is a conflict of interest because in some of the companies that are awarded contracts, belong to people who sit in some of these small meetings and maybe that is why, they don’t invite some of us for these meetings because we shall ask questions,” he said.
The Leader of Opposition demanded an investigation into the commission and declared he would not be silent as long as it is being managed by “a small clique.”
“As some MPs are being arrested, we need to broaden the investigation of the Parliament of Uganda beginning with the Parliamentary Commission because that is where lots of things are happening. If the people investigating Parliament are serious, they should start with the parliamentary commission,” he said.
Joel Senyonyi went on to say that Parliament ought to function as an institution rather than a little kiosk and swore that he would not remain silent or allow intimidation from anyone due to the fact that his constituents elected him to office.
Chris Obore questioned Ssenyonyi’s motivation for saying this, nevertheless, given that no such meetings had occurred. “How do you keep someone away from a meeting that hasn’t occurred,” wondered Obore.
“Let Ssenyonyi tell us the date when such meetings were held, the venue, and who called the meetings,” Obore emphasized. The Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Leader of Government Business, Leader of the Opposition, the Minister in charge of Finance, and four Commissioners (backbench members of parliament) make up the Parliamentary Commission, which is established by Article 87A of the Constitution.
READ: Anita Among Congratulates LOP Joel Ssenyonyi Upon his Graduation from LDC
The Secretary of the Commission is the Clerk to Parliament. Among the Commission’s responsibilities include creating estimates of Parliament’s annual revenues and expenses and figuring out what benefits and allowances the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Members of Parliament are entitled to.
