It is no secret that MP’s are set to receive brand new Ipads to facilitate their work and minimize on costs of printing and purchasing papers.
Deputy speaker Anite Amongi said on Thursday “I am glad to inform you that iPads instead of us asking for papers for documents are now available,” Among said.
However, this technology has cost the taxpayer a whopping 2 billion shillings to procure I pads for all the 529 legislators in the 11th parliament.
Each Ipad costs 3.5 million shillings and will be doled out to each Mp by next week.
Director of Communications at Parliament, Chris Obore says the mobile machines are currently being engraved and configured with the system at parliament as property of the Government of Uganda.
Once distributed, the Ipads will be used for among other things, to hold Zoom meetings for MPs to lessen crowding at the August house.
However, the leader of the opposition-LOP Rt Hon Mathias Mpuuga has asked parliament to conduct a technology training session for legislators ahead of receiving their Brand new tabs.
Mpuuga says parliament needs to sensitize MPs on how to use the devices, especially for the Zoom technology.
Mpuuga says it is embarrassing to see MPs appearing on zoom meetings almost naked or shabby because they are ignorant of how the technology works.
He says since Zoom is the most flexible technology used to converge large numbers of people at a given time during the pandemic, MP’s need to understand how to use it for official purposes.
He cited an example of one legislator he declined to name who appeared for a zoom meeting almost naked.
In response, the deputy speaker of parliament advised members to be pre-prepared for zoom meetings to avoid incidents of dressing up during zoom meetings.
Anite says ”Honorable members as you have heard from the LOPif you are going to participate in a meeting, organize yourself, don’t start dressing up when you are on zoom, you need to organize yourself like you going for a meeting”.
In the 10th parliament, only 5MPs returned their Ipads, following a directive from the clerk Jane Kibirige.
The rest purchased the budgets at a subsidized cost of between shs550,000 and shs700,000 for each and retained as the cash is retained at the government Consolidated Fund.
Procuring of iPads for MPs was initiated in the 9th parliament when the parliamentary commission, the governing body of the House approved the expenditure.
