Summary:
- He criticized the use of his image in promoting the regional parliamentary sittings, arguing that if Parliament is genuinely interested in addressing issues in Northern Uganda, the focus should be on pressuring the Government to respond to concerns that MPs from the region have repeatedly raised in Parliament.
KAMPALA: The Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, has accused Parliament of blackmailing him and other Opposition MPs over their stance on the proposed Regional Parliamentary sittings.
Ssenyonyi reaffirmed that his team maintains its position that the planned events are a waste of taxpayers’ money.
He criticized the use of his image in promoting the regional parliamentary sittings, arguing that if Parliament is genuinely interested in addressing issues in Northern Uganda, the focus should be on pressuring the Government to respond to concerns that MPs from the region have repeatedly raised in Parliament.
Ssenyonyi emphasized that attention should be given to addressing the real issues affecting Ugandans, such as the failure to deploy medical interns.
He pointed out that deploying these interns would provide essential health services to residents across the country.
“I saw my picture being used to promote these regional sittings, despite our clear expression of concerns about them. I don’t know whether it is blackmail or something else. We reiterate that we are opposed to these regional sittings. Does that mean we are against these different regions in the country? Of course not! If Parliament is serious about addressing concerns from different regions, why don’t we allocate a week in our plenary to each region? That would be less costly and still address the concerns of these regions,” said Ssenyonyi.
He added, “It’s less costly than spending billions to transport the entire Parliament to these regions. So, for those misrepresenting us by saying the LOP and Opposition MPs are against these regions, that’s far from the truth. In fact, many concerns from these areas have been raised by MPs from those regions, but little action has been taken. Why aren’t we insisting on real action being taken?”
Ssenyonyi also raised concerns about the secretive manner in which these matters are handled.
He criticized the Speaker for convening meetings with only a few Commissioners to decide on regional sittings and the associated expenditure, without involving the full Commission.
He questioned why such decisions are made in secrecy, hinting at the possibility of misappropriation of public funds.
Ssenyonyi also called on other countries to follow Canada’s example by deporting incompetent ambassadors.
He expressed frustration that Uganda has often exported its incompetence to the international stage by appointing political failures as ambassadors.
His remarks followed Canada’s recent decision to deport Uganda’s High Commissioner, Joy Ruth Acheng, and the expulsion of Henry Mayega, Uganda’s Deputy Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, for allegedly turning Uganda’s Consulate into a gambling hub.
“Some countries are very serious, and Canada is one of them. Acheng hired asylum seekers from Kenya and Ethiopia, dressed them in yellow, and paid them to protest in favor of the Museveni regime on the streets of Canada. We are glad that Canada took the action it did because, while incompetence might thrive here in Uganda, it is unacceptable in some countries. We encourage other nations to send back any incompetent ambassadors,” Ssenyonyi said.
He continued, “These ambassadors represent the image of Uganda, but many of them are jokers involved in unscrupulous activities. We are pleased that steps are being taken to address this. Our hope is that there will be a thorough review of all our ambassadors because most of them are political failures. Why not appoint career diplomats who can represent us properly? Political failures can be appointed as RDCs, where their confusion remains local, rather than exporting it and tarnishing the country’s image.”
Ssenyonyi further commented on the recent recall of the Deputy Ambassador to the UAE due to the gambling scandal, where Uganda’s Consulate in Dubai was reportedly turned into a casino at night.
He criticized the appointment of ambassadors based on political connections rather than merit, advocating for career diplomats who understand their roles.
