Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A probable scandal is brewing at the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) after a lawmaker protested “unfairness in the distribution of funds” meant for the 12th edition of the EALA games recently hosted in Juba.
Butrous Magaya, who represents Maridi in the TNLA, pulled the cat out of the bag when he brought issues of irregularities onto the floor of parliament to protest alleged irregularities in pay. According to the lawmaker, some committees that received funds failed to pay non-players, whose roles were to cheer on the teams.
“Many people, including players and non-players, are not happy,” said Magaya.
“There were irregularities and a lack of transparency in the organising committee,” he claimed, adding that “there were a lot of malpractices and abuse of power.”
Magaya further alleged that many of the irregularities have been documented and said that they would be brought to the floor of parliament for scrutiny.
“Why are we being cheated like this? We are not animals,” Magaya said.
The speaker of the TNLA, Jemma Nunu Kumba, acknowledged having received claims that point to the fact that South Sudan Parliament may have hired mercenaries to play for them
“I didn’t know that those who played required parliament to pay them [$400]. The players, especially the footballers, are asking for SSP400,000 to be paid because they played. This was something that was not even in the budget,” she said.
Nunu Kumba who was visibly irritated by these irregularities promised that she will address committees one by one.
“There must be accountability, we know the budget that went to each committee and the work was not done. We’ll meet with you!” she warned.
The annual Inter-Parliamentary Games are coordinated by the EALA on an annual basis. The games are designed to enable an interaction between the citizens of the East African Community and the members of the national parliaments.
The EALA Games in Juba brought together more than 900 MPs and staff from South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya, states that make up the East African Community.
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