EXCLUSIVE – On the likely loss to be met by the taxpayers, each of the 427 MPs will pocket Shs150m to buy cars to travel to their constituencies. The Speaker of Parliament has assured legislators that their long-awaited money for their cars would be availed in October.
The speaker made the announcement that excited MPs during Tuesday’s parliament plenary sitting.
“The issue of your mobility has been solved. In October, everybody will be on the road. I don’t want to say anything beyond that.”
It is however not yet clear whether each MP will be given sh130m which was given to the legislators of the 9th parliament or they will each get sh150m as the revised rate which caters for inflation.
If each MP is given sh150m for buying a car, it means government will spend a total of sh64b for a total of 427 legislators.
Speaker Kadaga emerging from one of her posh rides
To Inflate budget
With 22 new districts expected to be created between 2016 and 2019, the additional 22 MPs will require an extra Shs3.3 billion for their vehicles, raising taxpayers expenditure on MPs cars from about Shs40b (Shs103m each) in 9th Parliament to nearly Shs70b in the 10th Parliament.
Finance minister Matia Kasaija last week told the parliament finance committee that they had delayed to release money for the MPs’ cars because they had financial constraints.
