Police choking on Shs125 billion debt, calls for govt help

The Uganda Police Force has asked government through the Minister of Internal Affairs, General Jeje Odong, to rescue it from a heavy debt of Shillings 125.9 billion which is increasing every day.

The police debt accruing from electricity, water, food supply and fuel has been increasing steadily since 2010. In 2013 the police debt burden was at 38.4 billion Shillings but as of January 2018, the debt had increased to 125.9 billion Shillings.
Recently, the Ministry of Finance passed guidelines requiring all departments and ministries to use their allocation to clear debts as a first priority.

At least Shs10 billion is allocated to clearing up part of the debt every quarter. However, before the end of that quarter, more than that has been accumulated in debts.
For example this financial quarter, Shs13.4 billion has been allocated to clearing part of the outstanding debt.

The police undersecretary Rogers Muhirwe has since written to the Minister seeking his intervention for government to help the force clear its debt.

General Odong confirmed receiving the letter while addressing the media after the opening of the 24th Police Council meeting in Kampala on Monday.
Odong is scheduled to meet the Minister of Finance Matia Kasaija to discuss how best the force can be helped.
Since the police was forced to clear its debt using annual budgetary allocation, there has been a near-financial crisis in police operations.

In the Financial year 2016/2017 when the regulation was first passed, the Police Planning and Advisory Committee (PAC) resolved to suspend budgets of some departments. In a sitting in August 2016, the committee suspended allocations for the press and public relations department, per diem for officers travelling out of the country especially on scholarships and paying scholarships for personnel for further studies.
This, however, did not help reduce the debt burden.

General Kale Kayihura, the Inspector General of Police, says if the force is helped to clearing the current outstanding debt, it will find a way to reduce debts.
"For example we accumulate debts through buying of food. We need to find a way to grow our own food like the Prisons but also to create revenue generating activities," Kayihura said while addressing more than 20 officers who attended the council meeting.

A discussion on how police can generate its own revenue and become self-sustaining is one of the topics on the agenda of the two-day meeting at the Kigo based Police Marine Base.