The shadow Cabinet, led by Opposition Leader Joel Ssenyonyi, has decided not to attend the upcoming regional Parliamentary sittings, citing unnecessary cost.
Addressing the media this morning in Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition said that it is not justifiable to spend nearly 5 billion shillings on only one sitting of parliament.
“As shadow cabinet we have elected that its problematic for we in the opposition to be part of such an arrangement because we have not been brought on board and this expenditure of 5 billion shillings is difficult to explain to the people we lead.It is total wastage” Said Ssenyonyi.
Joel Ssenyonyi also expressed concern about how such expenditure decisions are taken since he as a member of the Parliamentary commission has never participated in such decisions. He revealed that the list of officials excluded from attending Parliamentary Commission meetings, yet are eligible, has grown, to include Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja who claims to having last been invited for a Commission meeting in March 2023, despite being a member of the Commission & the Leader of Government Business in Parliament.
The inaugural Northern regional sitting will take place on August 29 and 30 at Kaunda Playgrounds in Gulu City’s Bardege-Layibi Division. Other sittings are expected to take place in Mbarara, Masaka, and Mbale.