Kampala: Uganda this week doled out 25 million euros to MPs to buy new cars, sparking outrage in a poor country where the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc.
Each of the 529 lawmakers were handed 200 million shillings (48,000 euros, $56,500) to get new vehicles at a time when Covid-19 cases are surging.
On June 18, President Yoweri Museveni announced curbs on movement and shuttered schools, churches and bars for at least six weeks.
"It is unacceptable for a government to buy luxuries to a small group in parliament, who continue to receive monthly pay of over 30 million shillings (about $8,000) while the larger population are unable to feed themselves," said Anet Nana Namata, an active human rights defender and executive director of the Union of Human Rights Defenders Uganda.
A manual labourer earns an average monthly salary of about 24 euros while a teacher get 64 euros.
Moses Isooba, leader of the National NGO Forum added: "This act is shameful at a time the government is appealing to private citizens to contribute money to buy the Covid-19 vaccine."