President Yoweri Museveni has approved increased security spending for Uganda’s 456 members of parliament - including sharpshooters and armoured escort vehicles - after a ruling party lawmaker was shot dead.
Critics said the spending was wasteful and failed to address the security concerns of normal citizens who feared rampant crime in a country marked by unsolved murders and robberies .
Museveni said lawmakers would now be accompanied by military sharp-shooters and ordered the finance ministry to purchase armoured pick-up trucks to use as escort vehicles.
Rights groups and the opposition have accused the government of wasteful spending and failing to rein in corruption.
In the 2018/19 (July-June) financial year, the government introduced new taxes and hiked existing ones, including a new levy on accessing social media sites.
“Ordinary Ugandans are being taxed heavily to meet wasteful expenditure of politicians,” said Cissy Kagaba, executive director of Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda. “Security should be guaranteed for every Ugandan not for a few selected people … it’s pathetic and annoying,” she said.
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001287903/snipers-armoured-car-escorts-for-ugandan-mps