COP28: Uganda on the spot for sending 600 delegates 

By Franklin Draku

Government is under the spotlight again for sending a 600-strong delegation to the 28^th Conference of Parties that is underway in  Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This has opened the government for scrutiny over its spending choices amid revenue constraints

It makes Uganda one of the African countries with the largest delegations, just a few tiers below Nigeria, the second largest economy on the continent- represented by over 1,400 delegates.

Three months after the budget reading, the government suffered intense criticism after it dispatched two delegations of 70 notable officials to the UN General Assembly in New York, where some of the representatives were from dockets unrelated to the theme of the September summit.

On the team are 13 ministers and 58 Members of Parliament, alongside senior government officials.

Julius Mukunda, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group says delegates should be scrutinized based on technical competence and capacity to meaningfully engage with issues up for discussion.

Speaking to Daily Monitor earlier, Charles Odongtho, the spokesperson of the Office of the Prime Minister said Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, as head of delegation, only travelled with seven staff from her office.

The Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP), Mr Mathia Mpuuga said he did not know how the delegations were constituted, but offered that “apart from policy makers and few government officials including the MPs, “I don’t expect all those climate shoppers to go for that conference”.

“We need to do an audit of their role there. Otherwise, if we find out that their role is not directly related to the activity taking place, then we should consider that as a waste. The gaps must be closed and whoever is found to be responsible for travelling must be held responsible,” he said.

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