The Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi, together with other opposition MPs have  decided not to attend Parliament regional seatings, citing unnecessary spending by top leadership in parliament.

While addressing the media on August 6, 2024, Ssenyonyi stated that the Shs 20 billion budgeted for the regional parliamentary sittings is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Ssenyonyi claims that the senior leadership of Parliament is investing tax payer funds in a process that is not financially or logically understandable to Ugandans.

“We understand that approximately Shs5 billion will be spent on each of these sittings rather than all of them. The first will be in Gulu, followed by Mbarara, Mbale, and one of Uganda’s central districts. This expense is difficult for us to justify to the public and those we represent. It is a waste, so we are saying that we do not want to be a part of this problem since it does not make logical or economic sense,” Ssenyonyi said.

He further warned that the continued involvement of Parliament in activities that waste taxpayers’ money will attract more anger from the public, which is already disgruntled with the corruption and abuse of office currently happening at Parliament.

“The general public has been bashing Parliament, and rightly so, because they have been hearing of the grand theft that has been happening in this institution, in different offices, beginning with the top office in this institution, and then you come out and do such things that are inexplainable; it doesn’t make sense,” he further added.

Ssenyonyi said that he doesn’t see why parliament should be spending  billions of shillings every year to rent, and yet the new chambers of parliament should have been completed in 2019.

The first Regional Parliamentary Seating is scheduled for August 2024 in Gulu City.