By Muhumuza Jimmy
Parliament
The government has finally presented a statement to parliament regarding the alleged mammoth delegation that represented Uganda at the UN General Assembly 2023; revealing that the delegation contained spouses of cabinet members.
Nakadama told parliament that Uganda had only 58 representatives at the general assembly with only 31 paid by the government while the 10 are permanent staff at Uganda’s mission in New York.
The 3rd Deputy Prime Minister Rukia Isanga Nakadama today presented to parliament a statement on the alleged bloated delegation of 71 government officials to the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly which took place in September 2023 in New York. She noted that the wide and ever-growing scope of the Agenda, the main work at the general assembly is simultaneously conducted through six functional committees which require specialists who understand the specific body.
Nakadama refuted the figure of 71 delegates, saying only 31 delegates were funded by the government, while 17 delegates were funded by the UN and Partners. She adds that the alleged 21 delegates did not travel to New York for the UN General Assembly 2023 as reported. Indeed.
She explains that 10 of these delegates were diplomatic staff at Uganda’s Permanent Mission in New York and the government did not spend extra money on them to facilitate their attendance.
Nakadama also revealed that Uganda’s delegation to the UN general assembly contained spouses of some cabinet members whom she says were cleared to travel by the president.
The third deputy prime minister also apologized on behalf of the government for bickering that erupted among cabinet members arising from this controversial trip to New York.
The report did not face a tough test on the floor of parliament since the opposition had walked out of the chambers by the time Nakadama took the floor.
But the deputy speaker Thomas Tayebwa advised the government to step up its communication strategies to address such embarrassing scandals on time before causing big damage.
