Parliament clarifies on paying OTT tax for MPs
Parliament has dismissed claims that Members of Parliament want the August House to pay for the OTT tax for their iPads.
Moses Bwalatum, the Principal Information Officer at Parliament said according to the contract signed between Parliament and the Ipad Service providers, legislators can only use their iPads for the legislative roles, not for social media for which OTT is meant.
During Thursday's parliamentary sitting chaired by Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, Obongi County legislator Kaps Fungaroo sought clarification on why all legislators are not accessing the other social media platforms using their iPads since the implementation of the OTT tax.
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To many, the interpretation was that legislators want Parliament to pay for them the OTT tax for their iPads to enable them access the other social media platforms like twitter, facebook, whatsApp among others.
This has generated a serious debate among the public questioning the extravagance of their legislators.
According to Bwalatum, the data contract signed between parliament and the service provider only limits the usage of the iPads to legislative roles only.
Bwalatum said parliament had cut costs on expenses incurred on printing bulky reports, statements and other communications.
He said Parliament now saves over Shs 500 million per year.
