President Museveni has lambasted opposition politicians accusing them of being only interested in huge amounts on their bank accounts and pretending to care about the well being of the people they represent.
Museveni made the statements during the budget reading at Serena conference centre yesterday.
‘For 24 years after Uganda's independence I was a member of opposition. Therefore, I am an expert. It is during those years where I most helped members of west Ankole, Uganda and some parts of Africa. My job was to wake them up. You members need to help the people when you find them sleeping. They need to learn how to live in a modern world,” Museveni urged.
He said that in his years as an opposition politician during Obote and Amin regimes, it was even harder to operate since they were dismissed by bullets unlike the current crop of politicians whose only risk is tear gas.
“That was a serious period of death different from here where tear gas is used. Nevertheless, it was during that time when I started changing Uganda and also visited the liberated areas in Mozambique.”
“When I therefore see groups that call themselves opposition, support arson, don’t participate in the social economic transformation and get huge salaries from their banks, then they are not opposition,’ he added.
Recently, parliament increased salaries and allowances for legislators and staff by over 100 per cent, however, the proposal did not meet any resistance.
Speaking later regarding the matter, Dokolo legislator Cecilia Ogwal, an opposition politician welcomed the move, saying that it was important since the work done by MPs is too much.
Critics have argued that parliament doesn’t have opposition or NRM legislators when there is talk of salary increments of financial benefits.
“It (the House) is always in agreement whenever there is something benefiting them financially, that is the only time when we have no opposition,” one critic stated on social media after the salary rise by MPs.
During the hearing of the Age limit petition in Mbale, court heard that Mukono legislator Betty Nambooze had lied when she swore affidavit claiming she had returned that Shs20m given by government for consultations on age limit removal.
Nambooze who had indeed indicated on Television interview that she was returning the money since it was a bribe, did not actually return it.