Ssenyonyi addresses leaked info. on his excess Per Diem

LOP Joel Ssenyonyi addressing a news conference on the leaks that he was caught pants down with excess per diem yet he claims to be clean

Ssenyonyi said that he has already returned UGX 12 Million to Parliamentary accounts after he cut his 5 days trip short to one day.

Ssenyonyi travelled to Nairobi on behalf of Parliament to visit the bedridden Kawempe North MP Muhammed Ssegirigya at Aga Khan Hospital.

He explained that on his return he went ahead to give accountability to the Accountability office at Parliament where he submitted his boarding pass and other relevant documents and asked that the money for the four days be deducted off his emoluments as the policy is.

“Any extra days for which you are not where you are meant to be are deducted off the emoluments for the following months and so I did submit the boarding pass because I was there for one night so I said I should not be paid for 5 days,” Ssenyonyi.

However, the deductions on Ssenyonyi’s March salary were not done as expected which prompted him to withdraw the money himself and refunded it.

“The process delayed and so the money was not deducted off the March emoluments…I was told it would be deducted off the April emoluments but I said no, I am not going to wait for that I withdrew money from my bank account for the four days and I deposited that money in the accountability office and I got a receipt, I didn’t want the matter to take longer than it should.”

He urged his colleague MPs who got per diem for trips that they never went for, to humbly return the money to the accountability office.

Using his own example, Ssenyonyi called on the Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among to give accountability. He said that instead of blaming homosexuals and the former speaker for these matters being raised, Ssenyonyi urged Among to simply account for the monies questioned.

Ssenyonyi said he had written to state institutions charged with investigating corruption; i.e the Inspectorate of Government, the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), the Financial Intelligence Bureau and the Auditor General to urgently embark on thorough investigations into the gruesome corruption allegations involving the national assembly.

Joel Ssenyonyi, said that the entities are mandated by law to investigate such corruption allegations in which colossal sums of public funds are stolen.

The move comes after the Speaker of Parliament failed Ssenyonyi’s efforts to have the concern discussed on the floor of Parliament when she referred to them as fabricated figures and social media-based rumours with no evidence.

Ssenyonyi cited the Auditor General’s report, which showed irregular recruitment of 105 employees of Parliament. Reliable sources indicate that that number is over 200 employees, something that calls for thorough investigations.

When asked about the expected outcomes of these the relevant institutions, the Nakawa West MP said that the call for comprehensive investigations into the corruption allegations is an opportunity for the agencies to execute their legal mandate on behalf of the public.

“If you can’t account for instance some of these trips, refund the money because you can not be Kigali for EALA games and Nairobi at the same time,” said Ssenyonyi

Chris Obore, the Director of Communications and Public affairs at Parliament welcomed the development saying that it is very progressive for Uganda’s politics when the Leader of Opposition Ssenyonyi acknowledged the role of state agencies in governance.

Obore stressed that indeed governments are run in a structured manner, adding that they are not run like street vending where any noise is considered, governments World over put in systems and different layers of accountability in order to handle public affairs.

“Now that he has asked these state institutions, we request that they (Opposition) respect those institutions when they are doing their work because it is something to write to them and it is another (thing) to respect them and respect the outcome of what they do,” said Obore

Obore added that the Office of the Auditor General is staffed with people who are qualified certified auditors, the IGG has investigative people and the DPP has trained people.

He noted that If the government recruits them and gives them assignments to handle, people should respect them and the process of doing their work and respect the outcomes of their work.

“Thank you (Hon Ssenyonyi) so much for that development, it is actually the same thing the speaker has been talking about, saying that government has entities with competencies and with legal mandates to handle any complaints to process any issues, so I am happy that the Hon Ssenyonyi at least now agrees with the Speaker of parliament that let government investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary bodies do their work, that’s very critical,” said Obore

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