The 'expensive cars' for the Speaker and Deputy are not even expensive – Parliament

The Parliament Communication office has hinted that the recent procurement of Shs2.4billion cars for the office of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker is more money-saving that the initial options they had at hand.

In recent days, there has been a public uproar caused by a decision from parliament to acquire two luxurious vehicles for Speaker Anita Among and her Deputy Thomas Tayebwa.

The argument was fronted in the line of the current economic situation in the country, with many citing such an expense does not give regard to the financial plight of the taxpayers especially at a time like this.

However, the Director of Communications in Parliament, Chris Obore maintained that the decision by parliament was not only legally executed but also money-saving.

“The supplier in Uganda asked us for far more money than the one we used to procure those cars. Why then wouldn’t we give the Ugandan supplier the deal if it was about being extravagant?” Obore posed.

He said that previously, the parliament has procured cars for the same, but they have considerably spent large sums on repairs.

“We have benzes, we have these cars in parliament, but repairing them alone when they break down costs too much. You take the car to the garage and you spend Shs40m hence cumulatively you would have spent more than one who has bought a new car. So that was also the basis of buying these cars,” he said.

According to Obore, cars are not the issue because they are the property of parliament, but certain people are using the cars to attack the person of Anita Among.

“Parliament did not do anything wrong to allocate these cars. First, we procured them in February, meaning we are within the budget time frame. Secondly, these are not personal cars, they are cars attached to the people in these offices as long as they hold the office and they are mandated by law,” he said.

“This is not about Among or Tayebwa, they are merely office holders, the cars belong to parliament,” he added.

Parliamentary Commission has tried on two different occasions to purchase the Speaker and her Deputy’s ceremonial cars, but they have been unsuccessful on both attempts.