Second-term Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has cautioned newly sworn-in Members of Parliament against placing financial pressure on parliamentary leaders, warning lawmakers against treating the offices of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker as ‘moving ATMs’ for personal handouts.
Speaking Tuesday during the opening of a one-week orientation programme for new MPs in Kampala, Mr Tayebwa said the culture of legislators constantly seeking money from presiding officers had become unhealthy and contributed to deeper institutional problems within Parliament.
‘The most important issue, and I want to be honest on this as I request you honourable colleagues, [please] don’t look at a Speaker as a moving ATM,’ Mr Tayebwa said.
‘I had previously feared coming to the office because when you come to the office, members have already surrounded you. If I don’t have Shs10 million or Shs20 million, I don’t enter the office,’ he added.
Mr Tayebwa urged MPs to live within their means, noting that legislators already receive salaries and should not create the impression that parliamentary leaders are personally responsible for their financial welfare.
‘Each one of us will receive a salary. I think let’s really not behave as if others are more well-off, but share our poverty, and bond together. But that business of expecting money from the Speaker all the time is what has caused some of us problems,’ he said.
The Deputy Speaker made the remarks barely a day after he was sworn in for a second term, having served in the same role during the 11th Parliament under former Speaker Anita Annet Among.
Mr Tayebwa now deputises Jacob Oboth-Oboth, the Budama West Central MP and former Defence minister, who won Monday’s Speaker race by a landslide.
Ms Among, the Bukedea District Woman MP, had initially expressed interest in retaining the Speakership but later withdrew from the race following ongoing investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations into allegations of corruption and self-enrichment.
During her tenure, Ms Among became widely associated with generous donations to MPs, institutions and communities during public and private events, a trend Mr Tayebwa suggested had created unsustainable expectations among legislators.
‘Some of you have been saying Tayebwa is mean, yet I have been contributing up to Shs10 million. Where do I get such kind of money? Won’t I be forced to divert your money and give it to you by other means?’ he asked.
Mr Tayebwa said Parliament’s leadership intends to establish a more transparent and structured support system for MPs instead of relying on personal appeals or informal financial assistance from presiding officers.
‘Don’t put financial pressure on your presiding officers. Kindly bear with us so that instead of only those who can access me being the ones to benefit, we would rather have a system which is very clear on how each one of you can benefit, whatever small it might be,’ he said.
‘You don’t need to first come and beg me to be your friend. It should be through a well-defined system, and I think that will help all of us really to be objective and clear,’ he added.
Mr Tayebwa, who belongs to the ruling NRM party, also pledged fairness in managing parliamentary debates, promising equal treatment for legislators regardless of political affiliation or personal differences.