33bn Budget for Artistes Rejected, MPs demand accountability for E-Concerts Money.
Members of Parliament on the budget have rejected the proposal to allocate Shs33bn to the creative industry as a stimulus to cushion artists to recover from two years of no work due to covid-19 induced lockdown.
The committee wants accountability of funds that were allocated for the Uganda National Cultural Center to organize e- concerts during the lockdown.
Appearing before the parliament’s committee on Budget today, chairperson of the committee of gender Flavia Kabahenda recommended that the government stay the allocation of 33 billion meant for the construction of regional arts theatres saying that the ministry should first do studies on how much they will cost and where they will be set up.
However led by Racheal Magoola the Bugweri district woman MP, legislators affiliated with music and arts rejected the proposal, saying this money should be re-allocated to the associations of artists to help them mitigate the effects of the two-year lockdown.
But budget committee members objected to the reallocation saying they passed 7 billion shillings for artists during Covid-19 but no accountability has been made to that effect.
The committee of the budget has asked the ministry of gender to provide accountability for funds that the government allocated for e-concerts during the lockdown before seeking more funds for artists.
The MPs on the committee led by Kasilo county mp Elijah Okupa wondered why should cushion artists and instead called for the redevelopment of the national theatre.
