The Uganda Parliamentary Press Association (UPPA) has renewed calls for the fulfilment of a Shs50 million pledge reportedly made in December 2022 by former Speaker Anita Among to support its savings group, saying repeated follow-ups over the years have not yielded results.
Ms Among on Monday announced she would not seek re-election after the State launched investigations into abuse of office and corruption against her person.
UPPA president Sam Ibanda Mugabi says the association has engaged different channels since the pledge was made, but the commitment has remained outstanding.
“In December 2022, she promised to support our UPPA Sacco with Shs50 million but up to now we have not received that money,” Ibanda said.
He added that both the UPPA executive and the Sacco leadership, led by Lucy Lapot, had attempted follow-ups over time without success.
“We have followed up since 2022 to have the Speaker’s pledge fulfilled, but in vain. As a UPPA Executive, we got tired of following up until we asked the leadership of the UPPA Sacco led by Lucy Lapot to try their luck, but also in vain,” he said.
Ibanda noted that the matter had gradually become a sensitive and tiring process for the journalists’ association, which ultimately chose to step back from continuous follow-ups.
“I was tired of following up and we never wanted to be seen as beggars,” he said, reflecting the frustration within the association over the prolonged delay.
He also pointed to claims circulating within journalistic circles regarding internal resistance to the pledge’s fulfilment, though he stressed these were views he had been informed about rather than matters independently verified by UPPA.
“I’m told some former journalists who were working in her office blackmailed us and said there is no need to support journalists as they are not dependable,” Ibanda said.
The issue of the unfulfilled pledge has resurfaced at a time of heightened political scrutiny around parliamentary leadership transitions, drawing renewed attention from sections of the media fraternity who say such commitments, when made publicly, carry expectations of follow-through.
Within UPPA, members maintain that their concern is not only about a single pledge, but about the broader principle of accountability on commitments made in public forums.
While some journalists argue that such pledges are often made in good faith but may be delayed due to institutional or budgetary constraints, others believe clearer follow-through mechanisms are needed to ensure that publicly announced commitments are tracked to completion.
The discussion has also sparked wider reflection within media and political circles about the nature of public pledges in Uganda’s political space, where announcements made at events are sometimes not accompanied by formalized implementation timelines.
As attention shifts to the current parliamentary leadership, UPPA members say they are hopeful that the matter can still be resolved through engagement with the new administration, without escalating tensions.
For now, the association maintains that the pledge remains outstanding, and continues to seek clarity on whether and when it will be fulfilled.