State House gets Shs92b as sectors trail
A proposal by opposition to relocate part of the State House funds to fight nodding disease was turned down. Photo by Agatha Ayebazibwe
What you need to know:
Tough times. Several ministries’ budgets were reduced due to resource constraints and advised to only consider priority areas.
MPs yesterday approved State House’s request for Shs92 billion in extra funding on a day it emerged that Ministry of Finance had cut money for roads sector and other critical agencies.
Daily Monitor has seen a March 29 letter from Secretary to the Treasury Chris Kassami asking ministries to tighten their belts.
“Due to resource constraints and prevailing macroeconomic conditions, we have not been able to provide funds up to the levels required in the work plans submitted by the ministries, departments and agencies,” Mr Kassami said. “You are required to ensure that resources are applied to your highest priorities and to avoid creation of arrears.”
The affected agencies are include Uganda Aids Commission, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Public Service, Kampala Capital City Authority, among others.
As Parliament approved the State House supplementary request amid protests from the opposition MPs, a scrutiny of the new budget cuts has revealed a Shs21b cutback in the roads money for the last quarter.
Instead of giving Shs69 billion to the Road Fund, Ministry of Finance has allocated only Shs47.2 billion.
Shs45 billion will now be allocated to Uganda National Roads Authority and a balance of Shs2b shared by 103 districts around the country.
Expenditure shoots up
Leader of the Opposition Nandala Mafabi yesterday said: “The endorsement of the supplementary budget confirms that the State House expenditure this Financial Year has ballooned from Shs66.6 billion approved in August last year to about Shs160 billion.”
The House Budget Committee yesterday tabled its report on the supplementary request amid protests from the backbenchers who accused the government of perpetuating financial indiscipline.
By asking to increase its expenditure by 2.09 per cent of the approved total budget of Shs10.3 trillion, thus shifting its real demand upward, the government’s has increased the budget deficit by about 7.7 per cent.
The opposition unsuccessfully proposed that part of the State House money be re-allocated to children affected by the nodding disease syndrome in northern Uganda.
This proposal was shot down by the junior Minister for Finance Aston Kajara and other NRM members.
In the Budget Committee report, MPs said most of the items under the supplementary request are of a predictable nature and could have been provided for within the normal budgeting process.
The Budget Committee has over the years made this observation but there are no signs that their recommendations are being taken into consideration by the Executive.
