Next financial year’s budget for parliament includes a $5.5 million (Shs 19.8 billion) provision for a helicopter for the office of the speaker but government has indicated that it has no money to buy the chopper.
Multiple sources interviewed this week told The Observer that in meetings with their parliamentary counterparts, ministry of finance officials have said there is no money for the chopper.
“There is no money. The country has many unfunded priorities and a helicopter for parliament may not be one of them,” one official said.
In fact, the officials reminded parliamentary staff that a number of government ministries and agencies will have their budgets cut next financial year due to funding constraints.
One victim of the proposed budget cuts is State House, and Lucy Nakyobe, the comptroller, warned on Tuesday during an appearance in parliament that the cuts would cripple the president’s activities.
The State House cuts include the projected cost of maintenance of the presidential jet and helicopter. In some meetings, sources say, government tried to impress it upon parliament that a chopper will come with additional maintenance costs.
According to the website, www.reference.com, the cost of running a helicopter is around $300 (Shs 1 million) per hour, including fuel and maintenance.
Sources said it was also proposed that parliament waits for the impending revival of Uganda Airlines, which will have a helicopter wing. Then, officials said, parliament could hire the national airline’s choppers when needed.
But parliamentary staff, sources said, were not swayed by those arguments and insisted on buying their own chopper. Senior parliamentary staff who have been briefed on the matter, we have been told, include the clerk, Jane Kibirige, and Patrick Kunobwa, the director of finance.
MUSEVENI ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’
Meanwhile, sources close to President Museveni told The Observer that he is opposed to parliament buying a chopper. Museveni was reportedly first briefed by intelligence officers before he met ministry of finance officials, including Keith Muhakanizi, the secretary to the treasury.
According to our sources, intelligence told the president that the helicopter might be used by the speaker for “political mobilization purposes.”
But the president appears to have objected to the chopper idea largely on the basis of whether it is a priority now, sources said. The president is the only government official with fulltime access to an official helicopter.
On some occasions, other high-ranking government officials such as the vice president, prime minister and speaker have had to use a helicopter provided by the Uganda Police Force to move across the country.
Jim Mugunga, the spokesperson for the ministry of finance, said yesterday that it was still early days to tell whether or not government will avail parliament the money.
“Parliament passes and appropriates the budget; so, since it is their proposal, they will easily pass it. But this does not mean that once the budget is passed, money is given there and then,” Mugunga explained.
The discussions between the executive and parliament come three weeks after The Observer broke the story that the parliamentary commission was considering buying a helicopter for the speaker.
Kadaga reportedly told the commission during a meeting that a helicopter would ease her work and enable her to monitor government programmes across the country.
At that time, Chris Obore, the director for communication and public affairs at parliament, denied that such a proposal existed. He, however, said there was no harm in the purchase of a helicopter for the office of the speaker.
But on Tuesday, Obore half-heartedly conceded that parliament had put in a request for the helicopter.
“The position of parliament is that the speaker has not asked for the helicopter. The issue of buying a helicopter for parliament has been discussed by previous parliamentary commission members…if purchased, it would not be a property of the speaker. It would not serve her exclusively but parliament work,” Obore wrote on his Facebook page on January 24.
DEFECTIVE REQUEST
Sources in government told The Observer that the way the parliamentary commission framed their request for the money to buy the helicopter was defective.
According to these sources, contrary to normal procedure, parliament spelt out the details and the specifics of the helicopter they want to purchase (nine-seater Airbus EC 145).
“For instance, if you are requesting to purchase vehicles, you indicate that you want four-wheel-drive cars. But you don’t specify the make,” the source said. Besides the chopper, parliament has requested for $920,000 (Shs 3.3 billion) to purchase 12 cars.
These include, four station wagons for directors at a cost of $90,000 each; four Coasters at a cost of $80,000 each, and four double-cabin pickups at a cost of $60,000 each.
ekiggundu@observer.ug