Each Member of Uganda’s Parliament has reportedly received amount UGX 100 million in cash within the first week of April 2025, allegedly to mobilise constituents in support of government projects.
The money, quietly disbursed from a UGX 4 trillion supplementary budget passed last month, has set off an explosive national debate on transparency, governance and the priorities of public spending, especially at a time when many Ugandans are grappling with high taxes, poverty and decomposing public services.
The money, disbursed earlier this week in what some are calling a mobilisation bonanza, comes amid widespread economic pressure on ordinary Ugandans and rising public demand for transparency.
The beneficiaries are a total number of 557 Members of Uganda’s Parliament each receiving shillings 100 million and the cash reportedly landed in their accounts within the first week of April 2025.
According to internal sources and whispers from the treasury, the money is tagged as facilitation for “mobilising the public” to rally behind ongoing and upcoming government programs. NRM MPs collected their funds from the Office of the President on Level 4, while opposition and independent MPs received theirs from Parliament’s Level 5.
However, critics argue the timing is too convenient just months after new tax hikes and budget cuts to critical public services were announced.
“What mobilization needs a hundred million per MP? This is either an insult to our intelligence or a test of our silence.”
Online platforms have erupted with Ugandans demanding to know how the funds were approved, under what vote, and by who authorized such a lavish handout during a time when schools lack basic supplies, hospitals cry for drugs, and unemployed youth hustle for daily survival.
Some MPs, when questioned, argued that the money is justified, citing the “heavy demands of grassroots mobilisation.” Others, however, remained tight-lipped, dodging media questions or referring journalists to the Ministry of Finance.
