KAMPALA – Kampala Central MP Mohammad Nsereko has criticised government’s continued creation of new constituencies, saying the move will drain the country’s resources by increasing the cost of public administration.
Parliament last week approved the creation of 66 new seats, bringing to 531 the total number of MPs in the next Parliament
And according to Nsereko, the new constituencies overburden the taxi payer. He instead suggested that Parliament needs only 100 MPs.
“We need a Parliament of about 100 people, not a football pitch. Some MPs don’t even get the time to speak. I don’t buy into the creation of new constituencies because it heaps taxes on my voters. They have to take care of the new MP that is coming in,” he said.
Mr Nsereko said the creation of new constituencies is only a political move intended to win the NRM party more support.
The MP also weighed in on the continued standoff between landlords and traders operating in city arcades over rent arrears. Landlords are demanding that traders pay rent of three months when the buildings were locked during the Covid-19 lockdown.
“Whoever is locking shops in town is doing it illegally. I don’t know who the police is working for? They are supposed to see that those shops are not locked. We have to be realistic, the landlords have loans. The government should give them a waiver on rental tax; they will automatically waiver rent. If this government wishes, it can buy out the landlords in Kampala, and they waiver the rent for tenants,” he said.
