Northern Region MPs Slam LoP Ssenyonyi For ‘Skewed’ Regional Parliamentary Sittings’ Boycott

Members of Parliament from the Northern Region have condemned the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Joel Ssenyonyi, for boycotting regional parliamentary sittings being organised by parliament.

Ssenyonyi claimed that attending the sittings would waste taxpayers’ money, with each sitting costing Shs 5bn, but his critics argue that this is a skewed perspective.

Addressing the press conference at Parliament on August 8, 2024, MPs from the north where the planned regional parliamentary sittings would begin, described Ssenyonyi’s boycott, which he said is hinged on saving money as “hypocrisy and populism.”

Faith Nakut (Napak DWR) accused Ssenyonyi of seeking relevance at every opportunity and questioned his commitment to addressing challenges facing Northern Uganda.

“It is not right for someone [LoP] to oppose everything. The affinity for relevance should not make us fail to think objectively. At least he should allow these sittings to go on if there is a need to save, and then he will save from the sittings in the next regions,” Nakut said.

“The question of expenditure, it is wrong for him [Ssenyonyi] to even imagine it, it is blackmail to you the voters. Even if he talks about Shs20Bn, that money will be spent even if we sit here. If he talks about the Shs20Bn against the Shs72trn budget that he is aware of, why can’t he examine the budget and look for where money can be saved? The question of saving costs shouldn’t even arise,” she added.

Nakut wondered if Ssenyonyi would have taken the same stance if the regional sittings were starting in another region, implying that he was targeting the Northern Region.

Judith Alyek (Kole DWR) asked, “where is the wastage that the LoP is talking about? This is the Committees’ money, not his money, not even the Speaker’s money. It has been approved in the budget. So what is his problem? Is he jealous of Northern Uganda? Let him tell us if he does not want development in Northern Uganda. I have never seen this kind of Leader of Opposition in this Parliament. He wants to oppose everything, even a small thing that common sense can teach him to get an answer. Does he have common sense?”

Dr. Samuel Opio Acuti, (Kole North) also condemned Ssenyonyi wondering whether his National Unity Platform (NUP) name had changed to “Northern Uganda Persecutors” and that his Leader of Opposition (LoP) title had changed to “Leader of Persecution”.

The North MPs pointed out that NUP supporters had previously protested the admission of the former Speaker of Parliament late Jacob Oulanyah at a US medical facility, where he was receiving treatment for cancer, which eventually claimed his life, and the incident still “fresh in the minds of people of northern region.”

They thus concluded that LoP Ssenyonyi who is also the NUP party spokesperson’s actions, are a “clear indication of his party’s disdain for the Northern Region,” insisting that NUP targets “anything” involving their region.

However, LoP Ssenyonyi scoffed at angry MPs encouraging them to refrain from tribalising the issue of regional Parliament. If MPs from northern Uganda were interested in fighting poverty in their region, Ssenyonyi said they would “back proposals to have the Shs5Bn to be spent on this meeting to be used to improve services, other than having all that money spent on a meeting.”

Nonetheless, his critics quickly fired back at him arguing that if he is concerned about saving taxpayers’ money, he should “start with reducing his own expenditures, which amount to Shs 8m daily.”

The LoP’s office budget was increased to Shs 2.5bn in the new fiscal year, leading critics to accuse him of hypocrisy and populism.

Some opposition MPs have also accused Ssenyonyi of reducing the opposition to a clique of his National Unity Platform (NUP) members, who make decisions without consulting others.

Ever since he assumed his office seven months ago, LoP Ssenyonyi has been fighting multiple wars in Parliament, an institution where he works.