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Among said that the increasing demands for such financial support have become overwhelming for Parliament
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Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has urged Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to allocate funds in Parliament's budget for medical treatment abroad and burial expenses for former Members of Parliament (MPs). She stated that the increasing demands for such financial support have become overwhelming for Parliament.
Among made the remarks during yesterday’s plenary sitting in response to a request by Phyllis Chemutai, the Kapchorwa District Woman Representative. Chemutai had earlier sought the Government’s intervention in repatriating the remains of Samuel Kiprotich, a Ugandan PhD student who had died mysteriously three weeks ago in the United States. His body remains stranded in a US hospital.
This development comes amid revelations that, in June 2020, the 10th Parliament awarded medical insurance contracts to four medical service providers to cover MPs, their staff, and dependents. The insurance included a Shs2 million coverage for MPs above 70 years and Shs1.2 million for those below 70 years. If former MPs are included, the budget for medical expenses is expected to increase further.
Additionally, reports from April 2019 indicated that Parliament had allocated Shs67.7 million for the burial of each MP, with a total of Shs638 million earmarked for the funerals of five MPs in the 2019/2020 financial year. “We may need to lobby for funds for former Members of Parliament for medical (treatment) abroad and burials. You really need to take it up so that we have it in the next budget. It has become a very big burden,” Among emphasized.
The Speaker’s remarks followed a pledge by Premier Nabbanja to engage President Museveni to facilitate arrangements for the repatriation of Kiprotich’s body from the US, where he had been preparing to return to Uganda before his untimely demise.
Torch Media Africa
