Once an Honorable. Always an Honorable.
This has always been the dogma for Members of Parliament. Implying that even when you’re no longer a serving MP, you’ll always addressed and regarded as Honorable.
In light of Monday’s developments at Parliament, which have sparked outrage online, this saying has never been truer.
Five ex-Speakers of Parliament just got a lifestyle upgrade after Parliament gifted them brandnew Toyota Land Cruiser 300 VX-Rs each.
The monster SUV which was launched globally by Toyota in 2021 was an attempt by the Japanese car manufacturing giant to improve reliability, durability, and off-road performance.
The new Land Cruiser 300 Series was reshaped by merging cutting-edge technologies to create a riding experience that enables the driver to drive with ease on any type of road around the world without tiring easily.
The five lucky former Members of Parliament that will be cruising the SUVs include, Prof. Edward Rugumayo (third Parliament), Amb. Francis Butagira, (fourth Parliament), Alhaji Moses Kigongo (fifth Parliament), Rt. Hon. Edward Ssekandi (seventh and eighth Parliaments and former Vice President) and Rebecca Kadaga (ninth and tenth Parliament).
All five are Retired Speakers of the Parliament of Uganda.
A new Toyota Land Cruiser 300 VX-R costs $170,000 (Ushs 641.1m) as per the latest price list provided to Plugged by CFAO Motors Uganda (formerly Toyota Uganda).
To put this price in context for an ordinary Ugandan who pays Shs 500,000 in house rent per month, the new car gifted to the former Speakers of Parliament would pay your rent for the next 107 years.
Launched in Uganda April 2022, only 30 of these VX-R model units have since been sold in Uganda through the authorized Toyota dealers, Plugged confirmed on Monday.
The lifeline of politicians, at least in Africa, lies mainly in hard-to-reach areas that are off-road and have tricky terrains to maneuver. Luckily, that’s where SUVs like the LC300 series thrive.
A good degree of sentiments from Ugandans who reacted to the news story cited poor priorities by government. In particular, many wondered why government would choose to spend Ushs 3.2bn on five cars rather than repair the roads within Kampala whose state keeps deteriorating by the day.
Just on Sunday, Minister Kadaga (one of the recipients of the LC 300s) who’s the ninth most powerful person in Uganda’s political hierarchy, had added her voice on X to the growing cries about Kampala’s poor roads.
One would argue gifting her the new SUV is government’s way of responding to her cry. The LC300 VX-R knows no potholes.
It is fitted with a V6 3.3L Diesel twin-turbo engine and transmission across all grades. This powerful engine can handle all types of terrain, from a rocky mountain range to a soft sandy beach. Not only is the engine powerful, but the fuel consumption is quite economical when it comes to an SUV.
With 227kW of power and 700Nm of torque, this engine is designed to be lighter and stronger than the 200 Series. Fuel economy across the entire range is rated at 8.9L/100km, which drops to 7.6L/100km on the freeway.
Regarding the interior, this SUV offers all the luxury that these VIPs always demand.
The cloth seats are replaced with premier leather, the standard dual-zone air conditioning system is upgraded to four-zone climate control air conditioning for extra comfort, a powered sunroof, and a 12.3-inch infotainment screen.
Tech-wise, the VX-R includes ApplePlay and Android Auto, Dusk Sensing Headlights which illuminate automatically when the sun starts to set, a 360-degree camera, and a 10-speaker sound system.
ITS Connect establishes communications between the host vehicle and road infrastructure and between the host vehicle and other vehicles; it notifies the driver of a variety of information, including the presence of cars and pedestrians in blind spots and approaching emergency vehicles.
The vehicle can memorize up to three personalized vehicle settings – covering driving position, interior settings, and display settings – enabling multiple drivers to conveniently select their own settings preferences.
The vehicle features Hands-Free Back Door, which enables drivers carrying a Smart Key to automatically open and close the back door simply by placing their feet under the rear bumper.
On top of other safety features like Blind Spot Monitoring, Daytime Running LED lights, Auto-Dimming Exterior Mirrors and Rain Sensing Wipers, and low-speed reverse autonomous braking.
