Parliament has refuted claims by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Joel Ssenyonyi, that Parliamentary Commissioners received a second service award of Shs 400 million each, in addition to an earlier payout.
The alleged commissioners include Solomon Silwany, Esther Afoyochan, Prossy Akampulira Mbabazi, and Mathias Mpuuga.
“I have been reliably informed that, some weeks back, the four Commissioners of Parliament — Solomon Silwany, Esther Afoyochan, Prossy Akampulira Mbabazi, and Mathias Mpuuga — received a second service award of Shs 400 million each, which was channeled through the Parliamentary SACCO to avoid leaving a clear paper trail,” Ssenyonyi claimed on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.
However, Cris Obore, the Director of Communication and Public Affairs at Parliament, dismissed the allegations.
“We [Parliament] have not paid any money out. If he [Ssenyonyi] believes money was paid, as a commissioner himself, ask him to provide the pay slip because Parliament pays through the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMIS). There is no way the Clerk to Parliament can pay any staff or MP, including a commissioner, without going through the IFMIS system,” Obore said.
“So, ask Ssenyonyi to show you a pay slip — including his own, since he loves transparency. We are really tired of people blackmailing an institution of government, an institution of the people, with lies about money,” he added.
Obore also dismissed reports that Ssenyonyi himself had received Shs 650 million as a service award.
“He has not been paid Shs 650 million. It’s a lie. Whoever is blackmailing Ssenyonyi is an amateur. There is no way Ssenyonyi could have been paid that money,” Obore asserted.
