By Our Reporter
Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has urged Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to allocate resources within the Parliamentary Commission budget to cover medical treatment abroad and burial expenses for former Members of Parliament (MPs), citing the increasing financial burden on the institution.
Among made the appeal during Wednesday’s plenary sitting in response to a concern raised by Kapchorwa Woman MP Phyllis Chemutai. Chemutai had sought government assistance for the repatriation of the remains of Samuel Kiprotich, a Ugandan student pursuing a PhD in Food Science and Technology at the University of Minnesota, USA, who passed away unexpectedly.
“We may need to lobby for funds for former MPs to receive medical treatment abroad and for their 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 stated.
Her remarks followed a pledge by Prime Minister Nabbanja to engage President Museveni on arrangements to bring Kiprotich’s body back to Uganda. Nabbanja emphasized the President’s past efforts in such cases and promised to gather details from Uganda’s foreign mission to facilitate the process.
“Our President has always helped. Today, if I get an opportunity to speak with him, I will raise this issue. But I will need details from our mission abroad so that the body is brought back,” Nabbanja said.
This development comes amid growing concerns over the cost of medical care and funeral expenses for MPs. In June 2020, reports indicated that the 10th Parliament had awarded medical insurance contracts to four service providers to cover MPs, parliamentary staff, and their dependents. Under the scheme, MPs above 70 years were allocated UGX 2 million each, while those below 70 were covered at UGX 1.2 million annually. Expanding these benefits to former MPs would further increase medical expenses.
Additionally, in April 2019, Parliament allocated UGX 67.7 million for the burial of each MP, setting aside UGX 638 million for the funerals of five MPs in the 2019/2020 financial year.
The proposal comes at a time when the Parliamentary Commission’s budget is set to decline. According to the 2025/26 National Budget Framework Paper, the budget will reduce to UGX 833.5 billion from UGX 978.6 billion in the 2024/25 financial year.
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