Ministers have accused the leader of the opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, of speaking as though he were not a member of parliament, after a heated exchange over public borrowing and money lenders in the House.
The clash came during a plenary sitting chaired by the speaker, Jacob Marksons Oboth. Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, the Finance minister, Henry Musasizi, and the state minister for Urban dDvelopment, Margaret Muhanga, ganged up against Ssenyonyi.
The debate began with Nabbanja’s warning about personal borrowing.
“I want to tell my colleagues, with a heavy heart, that Ugandans are developing a habit of borrowing even with no genuine aim, and even those who are able,” she said.
She said money lenders were exploiting the habit to abuse their clients’ rights. Some, she said, take away borrowers’ national identity cards and charge high interest rates.
Musasizi warned that lenders who continue the practice risk losing their licences. He said the monthly interest rate should not exceed 2.8%, which amounts to 33.6% a year.
He promised an investigation with the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority, which falls under his ministry.
Ssenyonyi intervened, accusing Nabbanja of reckless talk. He argued that Ugandans were simply copying the government, which routinely asks parliament to approve loans.
“Every time you come to parliament, you have come to borrow, and we do not see the value of the borrowing,” he said.
Nabbanja rose to ask the speaker whether Ssenyonyi was in order, saying he was making false allegations, because she had spoken about the conduct of some Ugandans and money lenders, not government borrowing.
Her exchange with Ssenyonyi drew laughter from some members.
Musasizi then asked whether Ssenyonyi was really a member of the House. He reminded him that every government loan request must be approved by parliament, as the law requires.
“As long as you are a member of this House, you are part of the borrowing process,” Musasizi said.
Muhanga said Uganda was not in danger because it was borrowing under its sovereign right to do so.
Oboth said he had yet to meet a member who had never borrowed. He added that people borrow not because they are poor.
