The Democratic Party (DP) has blamed the government of Uganda for unnecessarily spending on 600 Ugandan delegates during the Conference of the Parties (COP28) summit held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) President and acting DP Spokesperson, Ismail Kiirya while addressing the media at City House in Kampala on December 5, 2023, said that Uganda took a delegation of 600 participants namely pharmacists, and entrepreneurs, among others.
“The aim is not the stipulated purpose of the conference but just to give trips to people. What’s the use of a pharmacist in a climate change conference? When you critically go on the ground to find out about the conference, they are in bars and happening places,” Kiirya said.
In addition to the unnecessary expenditures, Kiirya further noted that, the East African games started recently in Rwanda, and that absenteeism in Parliament is going to be witnessed in disguise of Members of Parliament (MPs) going to support East African games. Each MP will be given over UGX 37m to go and support woodball, and pulling ropes, among others.
In relation to the supplementary budget, Kiirya said that, the UGX 100Bn supplementary budget request made by State House is too early, adding that, it should first give accountability for what was previously allocated. In other words, State House doesn’t need any supplementary at the moment, but it’s the Ministry of Health, and Education that need that supplementary because it’s understandable.
COP is an international climate meeting held each year by the United Nations whereby the countries which joined are party to the international treaty called the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The COP28 summit currently happening in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai convened delegates from nearly 200 countries, leaders of business and finance, and representatives of Civil Society from November 30th to December 12, 2023, with an aim of fast-tracking the transition to a clean-energy future. The summit is expected to emphasize the importance of collective action to stop climate change and the critical role of finance in the low-carbon transition.
