How Junior Parliamentary Staff Received Billions On Speaker Among's Behalf

 

Parliament has confirmed that significant amounts of taxpayer funds were indeed transferred to personal accounts of some of its staff. This revelation came to light during an enlightening session on X (formerly Twitter) Space, organized by the Agora Discourse, where Mr. Chris Obore, the director of public and corporate affairs at Parliament, addressed the public regarding the matter.

Mr. Obore made it clear that these funds were not intended for personal use but were earmarked for specific Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives spearheaded by Speaker Anita Among. He shed light on the Speaker's heavy workload, which led her to enlist the assistance of junior parliamentary staff to manage these funds and oversee various related tasks.

During the discussion, Mr. Obore emphasized the need for fairness in scrutinizing the situation, urging the public to focus on the purpose and proper utilization of the funds rather than hastily condemning Speaker Anita Among.

In his defense of the Speaker's actions, Mr. Obore stated, "I don’t want to condemn Anita for investing in her community yet there are other leaders who have looted government more but did nothing."

This revelation emerged shortly after Ms. Agather Atuhaire, an activist associated with Agora Discourse, shared a document on her X-platform. The document contained a list of names of Parliament's junior staff who allegedly received funds on behalf of the Bukedea Woman MP.

According to Atuhaire, this document is a part of the report from the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), revealing that certain individuals were receiving substantial sums, averaging at about Shs400 million per week, on behalf of the Speaker for specific activities.

Mr. Obore staunchly defended the junior employees, asserting that criticizing them unfairly overlooked the fact that the funds were designated for the CSR initiatives of the Speaker and Parliament, not for personal gain by the staff members.

Parliament has found itself under intense scrutiny with the emergence of the hashtag #UgandaParliamentExhibition, spearheaded by activists such as Ms. Agather Atuhaire and Academician-Cartoonist Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, among others. These activists have raised allegations of corruption and collusion among parliament staff, claiming large sums of money were siphoned off for personal benefit.

In a further statement, Mr. Obore hinted at an underlying agenda against Speaker Among, stating, "It’s a hidden agenda against the speaker" in reference to the recent expose.