In September, Parliament appropriated a total of Shs 3.5bn to facilitate the traveling and allowances for Members of Parliament led by the Speaker Jacob Oulanyah for the Dubai Expo. The development is contained in a letter written to Oulanyah on September 21, 2021 seeking for approval and permission for MPs to attend the six months long event in the United Arab Emirates. The Speaker swiftly approved the request the next day on September 22, 2021 and few days later jumped on the plane with his crew to Dubai. Parliament, in mid September, established a committee to purposely “prepare and solicit funds” to cater for the participation of MPs in the expo. The Committee secured the needed funds from a yet to be ascertained vote. “The Parliament of Uganda set up a Committee to prepare and solicit funds to enable Parliament attend the EXPO effectively,” said part of the document seen by ChimpReports. Adding: “To that end, a total of 3,500,000,000 (three billion, five hundred million shillings) only was appropriated to Parliament for this activity.” 
Since Parliament was not in the original Dubai Expo activities including: tourism, trade and investment forum, business-to-business and business-to-government networking events, arrangements to spend the money started when it had already been secured. And to that effect, Uganda Export Promotion Board and the Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives had to be brought in to give guidance and help Parliament design activities for the expo. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, which is the leading coordinator of Expo activities, got Shs 87,920,000, 2.5% of Parliament’s Shs 3.5bn. Dubai Expo Budget 
Parliament Expenditure Parliament plans to ferry up to 50 MPs, in phases, to attend the 6 months long event at a USD$700 (2,520,000) allowance a day for each legislator excluding air return tickets. “In light of the duration of the EXPO (6 months), the attendance of MPs shall be in staggered stages,” said part of the document approved by the Speaker. The first team to the EXPO was indeed led by Oulanyah. “Rt. Hon. Speaker shall lead team that will attend the opening and Uganda Day events: while on various dates, different members shall participate,” added the document. The movement of MPs to Dubai has been structured within 5 sectoral committees and an ad hoc organizing committee chaired by the Speaker. The sectoral committees of Parliament steering the process are: ICT and National Guidance, Foreign Affairs, Environment and Natural Resources, Agriculture and Trade and Tourism. Parliament Speaks out Though the document approved by the Speaker explicitly says 3.5bn was appropriated for MPs to attend the Dubai expo, Parliament’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Chris Obore said the money was originally meant to facilitate other activities. According to Obore, part of the money used to fly committee chairpersons to Dubai, was in fulfillment of the oversight role. “That money (3.5bn) was release to parliament to cater for strategic foreign engagements like scheduled meetings, that is, Pan African Parliament, Inter Parliamentary Union , ACPU among others,” he said. Obore finally opened up noting that “part” of the Shs 3.5bn was used to oversee the activities of other entities, that interestingly got less than 10% of the money given to Parliament. “Part of the money was used to facilitate Committee chairpersons to visit the Dubai Expo as part of parliament on oversight,” he said.
Since Parliament was not in the original Dubai Expo activities including: tourism, trade and investment forum, business-to-business and business-to-government networking events, arrangements to spend the money started when it had already been secured. And to that effect, Uganda Export Promotion Board and the Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives had to be brought in to give guidance and help Parliament design activities for the expo. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, which is the leading coordinator of Expo activities, got Shs 87,920,000, 2.5% of Parliament’s Shs 3.5bn. Dubai Expo Budget Parliament Expenditure Parliament plans to ferry up to 50 MPs, in phases, to attend the 6 months long event at a USD$700 (2,520,000) allowance a day for each legislator excluding air return tickets. “In light of the duration of the EXPO (6 months), the attendance of MPs shall be in staggered stages,” said part of the document approved by the Speaker. The first team to the EXPO was indeed led by Oulanyah. “Rt. Hon. Speaker shall lead team that will attend the opening and Uganda Day events: while on various dates, different members shall participate,” added the document. The movement of MPs to Dubai has been structured within 5 sectoral committees and an ad hoc organizing committee chaired by the Speaker. The sectoral committees of Parliament steering the process are: ICT and National Guidance, Foreign Affairs, Environment and Natural Resources, Agriculture and Trade and Tourism. Parliament Speaks out Though the document approved by the Speaker explicitly says 3.5bn was appropriated for MPs to attend the Dubai expo, Parliament’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Chris Obore said the money was originally meant to facilitate other activities. According to Obore, part of the money used to fly committee chairpersons to Dubai, was in fulfillment of the oversight role. “That money (3.5bn) was release to parliament to cater for strategic foreign engagements like scheduled meetings, that is, Pan African Parliament, Inter Parliamentary Union , ACPU among others,” he said. Obore finally opened up noting that “part” of the Shs 3.5bn was used to oversee the activities of other entities, that interestingly got less than 10% of the money given to Parliament. “Part of the money was used to facilitate Committee chairpersons to visit the Dubai Expo as part of parliament on oversight,” he said.
