Pope visit preparations to cost taxpayer Shs5 billion
Pope Francis meets President Museveni at the Papal Building in the Vatican, Rome, last year. The Pope told President Museveni he is willing to visit Uganda and officiate at the 50th anniversary of the canonisation of Uganda Catholic Martyrs at Namugongo this year. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
Supplementary budget. There is no budgetary allocation for the papal visit in the current Budget meaning there would be a need for a supplementary Budget request
Kampala.
When Pope Francis announced he would visit Uganda later this year, there was an aura of excitement. However, his visit will come at a cost to the taxpayer.
In the Budget Framework Paper submitted to Parliament last week, preparations for the Papal visit are expected to cost Shs5 billion in the next financial year.
The implementing authority for this visit will be the Office of the President. Although no further details have been given at this stage regarding the cost, papal visits often pose logistical nightmares to a government on issues regarding security, accommodation, the influx of international media and public relations.
That, however, according to the Ministry of Finance officials, would fall in the current financial year. There is no budgetary allocation for the papal visit in the current Budget meaning there would be a need for a supplementary Budget request.
The details of the preparations for the papal visit will be included in the ministry policy statement for the Ministry in charge of the Presidency. By yesterday, they were yet to table this statement. It is, however, expected that by next week, Parliament committee will sit to discuss these statement and final expenditure on the visit will be contained in the same policy statement.
The Vatican is yet to confirm when and how long Pope Francis will be in Uganda as his itinerary has not been announced. The Catholic Church in Uganda, has however, been lobbying to have the papal visit take place in June, during the Uganda Martyrs’ Day celebration.
Additionally, when President Museveni visited the Vatican at the tail end of 2014, he requested Pope Francis to come and celebrate Martyr’s day in Uganda.
This would be the third Pope in history to visit Uganda, after visits by previous Popes; Paul VI who visited Uganda in 1969 and Pope John Paul II in 1993.
Philippine visit
In his last visit to a foreign country, Pope Francis spent at least five days in the Philippines in January 2015. About 50,000 police and troops were sent on the streets of Manila, the capital, to provide security where at least 6 million people showed up to catch a glimpse of the Pope.
It is estimated that $4.8m (Shs14 billion) was spent by the Philippines government on the five-day visit.
Other preparations ahead of papal visit
The Uganda Tourism Board has asked residents surrounding Namugongo Martyrs shrines to consider earning from ‘homestay’ services so as to earn money off pilgrims. A homestay is a form of tourism that allows a tourist to immerse themselves into a country’s hospitality, languages, cultures, lifestyles and tasty cuisines, among others.
Hosting a homestay participant also allows the local family to earn income. To minimise difficulties, most homestay arrangements involve a contract or written agreement between the host family and the tourist.
