MPs slash KCCA budget by Shs18 billion
Kampala Capital City Authority executive director, Ms Jennifer Musis
KAMPALA- Even when technocrats and political leaders in Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) have been demanding at most Shs1 trillion for the Financial Year 2018/19, the authority’s proposed budget has been slashed by Shs18.47b from Shs479.94b.
Ms Jennifer Musisi, the KCCA executive director, last week told Daily Monitor that the budget cuts were recommended by the Parliamentary Committee on Presidential Affairs.
“The committee said the slashed Shs18.47b will be transferred to other ministries, departments, agencies and local governments,” Ms Musisi said.
The committee is, among others, mandated to oversee the operations of Kampala, which is supervised by KCCA as the administrative agency.
Should the budget be approved as per the recommendations of the committee, Ms Musisi said, a lot of city projects will be greatly affected, leaving a very big gap.
For instance, some of the projects to be affected by the budget cuts are solid waste management which requires Shs4.4b, registration of boda bodas at Shs800m, legal fees for hiring external lawyers for Shs900m and purchase of computers for KCCA staff which cost Shs200m.
Others are lease payment to Buganda Land Board as ground rent for some city schools estimated to cost Shs804m, KCCA sports funding at Shs1.2b and outstanding Pay As you Earn.
“Our budget is already small and this cut will even make it hard for us to meet our envisaged expectations. We have told them not to cut the budget and we hope they will understand us,” she said.
Ms Jessica Ababiku, the chairperson of the committee, who is also Adjumani District Woman MP, did not answer our repeated calls to comment on the matter.
Daily Monitor understands that KCCA has for long been grappling with funding challenges, something that has stalled many city projects.
The slashed budget for FY2018/19 means that the authority will operate on a shoe-string budget of Shs461.47b.
KCCA has 11 directorates whose services are dispensed in all the five urban councils of Kampala central, Rubaga, Kawempe, Makindye and Nakawa.
WHAT LUKWAGO SAYS
Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago punched holes in the entire budgetary process saying it was irregularly prepared and that the Kampala minister did it as a one-man’s job, causing confusion.
“I implore MPs to review the whole budget but not to just cut it because the budget itself has many irregularities which we have since queried,” he said.
