“Shocking as Parliament Approves Shs 9 Trillion Controversial Loan Application with Only 41 MPs”

By Abraham Lincolns

A handicap of only 41 out of the 556 MPs in Uganda’s 11th Parliament approved Shs 9 trillion in government loans on Tuesday leaving many Ugandans shocked and  asking the legal procedures followed to pass such a sensitive resolution without following the required two thirds of the quorum.

The session that  sparked outrage among fiscal watchdogs saw a meagre segment of legislators authorizing government to proceed with immense loan requests tallying to Shs9 trillion bypassing committee of scrutiny and falling far away from the required quorum thus raising legal, fiscal, and constitutional concerns.

While the House comprises over 556 legislators, only 41 Members of Parliament including 31 from the ruling NRM and 10 from the opposition decided to give the government a go ahead on borrowing the money in question with intent that it would  impact millions of Ugandans.

The session was characterized by a controversial suspension of the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure where Rule 162 was set aside, which prescribes the mandatory flow of financial scrutiny.

“The Speaker shall commit the proposed loan or guarantee request to the Committee on National Economy and to the relevant Sectoral Committee, under which the subject matter of the request falls”. Read Rule 162(2).

Rule 162(4) also stipulates that the Committee on National Economy shall present the report on the loan or guarantee request to the House and by suspending these clauses, the loans were okayed  without a single committee report, risk assessment, or sectoral input.

Furthermore, the session proceeded despite Rule 25, which mandates that a quorum defined as one- third of all Members entitled to vote must be present when the House is voting on any question. The most significant approval was a massive Shs7.3 trillion loan from Bahrain intended to finance the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC).

However, the Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, called for urgent scrutiny into a proposed $2.3 billion (Shs8.09 trillion) investment from the US Government into Uganda’s health sector where he highlighted that a similar deal was recently halted in Kenya over medical privacy issues, arguing that Uganda must not rush into agreements involving sensitive citizens data.

Ssenyonyi cautioned the House, that passing loans in violation of Rules 162(2) and (4) undermines the Legislature’s authority. “This practice of suspending rules for reports to be disregarded is dangerous and avoids the very scrutiny that ensures these loans are viable and not just a burden to the future taxpayers”. Warned Ssenyonyi.

As the loans were cleared, State Minister for Finance (General Duties), Henry Musasizi, officially tabled the National Budget Framework Paper for FY 2026/2027 Proposed Budget of Shs69 trillion, a decrease from the current Shs80 trillion with a domestic revenue target of Shs48.7 trillion.

Though debt-to-GDP ratio is closer to the red zone, legal experts suggest that rushed approvals involving a lack of quorum (Rule 25) can be challenged in the Constitutional Court for violating the Public Finance Management Act.

By suspending key safeguards, the House bypassed the standard oversight procedures designed to protect the national economy.