By Joel Mugabi
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has responded to calls by MPs to have the list of Ugandans who have received Covid19 relief cash shared with Parliament.
During Parliament’s Prime Minister’s question time in today’s plenary, a section of MPs led by Dokolo Woman MP Cecilia requested that government, through the OPM, avails the MPs with the list of beneficiaries of the Covid19 relief funds to allow them verify it as a way of ascertaining if the money went to deserving vulnerable Ugandans.
But Nabbanja, who had earlier missed an opportunity to deliver a statement on the status of government interventions on the Covid19 pandemic, explained that the list contained people’s private information, including National Identification Numbers (NINs), and mobile phone numbers, a reason it wouldn’t be shared. She made it clear sharing this information with Parliament would be in total disregard of privacy laws.
Other MPs like Medard Lubega Sseggona (Busiro East) complained about the manner in which the Covid19 relief package was being handled. The NUP MP told Nabbanja and the entire House that several vulnerable poor Ugandans were not included on the list of beneficiaries yet they have been adversely affected by the lockdown measures President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni announced on June 18.
Sseggona also called on government to increase the amount of money given to the vulnerable poor, saying the Shs100,000 was just a drop in the ocean of basic needs and other expenditure.
The vocal MP and lawyer also revealed that members of the public had turned their representatives into ‘mini-governments,’ with vulnerable constituents turning to them for relief as they await the ‘Nabbanja money,’ which has now turned into a debt – just like all promises.
Government hopes to extend relief to just over 500,000 people but there have been delays in the disbursement of funds. It is also not yet clear if more money will be given to the vulnerable poor in case the lockdown is extended beyond the 42 days. (For comments on this story, call, text or whatsapp us on 0705579994, 0779411734, 0200900416 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).