Government tags Budget to development plan

Kampala- Unlike in the past, implementation of the National Development Plan II (NDP II), has been aligned to the national Budget and each ministry will be issued with a certificate of compliance by the National Planning Authority (NPA).
The NPA says NDP II is the government working document. Therefore, aligning all development programmes of government to it is expected to give direction on effective execution of the national Budget for better results.

In an interview with Daily Monitor on Tuesday, the director for Planning at NPA, Mr Patrick Birungi, said the Budget is being derived from the plan and its following all the planning aspects of NDP II and Vision 2040.

“To make sure that there is compliance, every work or programme government designs follows the NDP II right from the beginning as opposed to the past when things first get drawn or done in the budget and the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) begin waiting for certificate of compliance from NPA,” he said.

Dr Birungi said NPA certificate of compliance is in line with Public Finance Management Act 2015 Section 13:6 and 13:7 which is all about proper management of public funds and improved service delivery.

The second NDP covers the period 2015-2020 and its priority investment is in five areas which planners think they have the greatest multiplier effect on the economy.

These areas or sectors of the economy include agriculture, tourism; minerals, oil and gas; infrastructure development; and human capital development. These five areas are in great abundance in Uganda and it needs effective management to realise benefits out of each.

The NDP offers a long-term perspective. It defines a desired destination and identifies the role different sectors of society need to play in reaching that goal.

Yesterday’s Budget was the second to be executed under the National Development Plan II which focuses on ushering Uganda into a lower middle income country by 2020.

Dr Birungi said all the budgeting strictly follows the elements and requirements in the NDP II, and has helped Uganda to go a long way in Budget transparency.

“The only challenge in the Budget is that responsible officers have to make their priorities right focusing on different sectors of the economy. If it is roads leading to tourist areas or mining areas let be roads, if it is agriculture let it be agricultural development strategies,” he said.

The chairperson of the NPA, Dr Wilberforce Kisamba Mugerwa, told Daily Monitor on Monday that the NDP II is drawn from National Vision 2040 and informs the national budgeting process. There is no way the Budget can be designed and implemented without following the elements in NDP II.
“At the macro-level, the Budget is focusing on national priorities which are stipulated in the NDP two which is very important for the development of this country,” he said.

However, Dr Kisamba expressed fears that much as the Budget follows the NDP II at the sector/district levels, there may be diversion of funds because some districts don’t have strategic plans and technical capacity in place which NDP II focuses on.

“It is important that government builds capacity at all levels of administrative units. We can do a lot with the Shs26 trillion Budget if it is properly utilised,” he said.
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