Councillors protest over allowances as Tororo approves Shs71b FY2023/24 budget

Amidst controversy, the Tororo District council has approved a budget of Shs71.1 billion for the FY2023/2024 with Shs34 billion of the money going to the education sector.

The budget was passed on Tuesday following several adjournments caused by protesting councilors who demanded payment of their outstanding allowances.

The councilors claimed that they had accumulated arrears of monthly monitoring allowances exceeding ten months, sitting allowances and one council meeting as ex-gratia for the fourth quarter.

Sarah Apadet Okumu, the councilor for Tororo Municipality’s Western said they deferred approving the budget because they were tired of being fooled like young children.

‘’We are not children whom you can continue deceiving. Pay us what is due to us then we shall pass the budget. After all, what we are demanding was reflected in the last budget,’’ she said.

Earlier on, the municipal council Speaker Betty Andera Osapat was forced to prematurely adjourn the house three consecutive times as councilors moved out of the hall in protest, calling for clearance of all their allowances.

The House was later constituted at about 4pm following several closed-door meetings involving local authorities including the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Nickson Owole, members of the district executive led by the LCV chairperson John Okeya and technocrats.

The meeting advised the office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to outsource funds to at least pay councilors for two sittings, a source who attended the meeting, but preferred anonymity told Monitor.

As the House resumed, Magola Sub County councilor Samuel Odongo moved a motion for the council to approve the budget “in the interest of of Tororo District’s more than 600,000 people.”

But Speaker Andera quickly highlighted the need to consider the plight of the local leaders.

‘’I am ashamed of presiding over a council where councilors come to council in torn clothes and riding old bicycles while others put on sandals because they can’t afford to dress decently. There are provisions that can help them improve on their lifestyles if they [provisions] are properly observed. CAO and your team in the finance department go and look for money and pay these councilors,’’ she remarked.

She explained that the Local Government Act gives back 20 per cent of district revenue collections as councilors’ sitting allowances.

According to the budget presented by the district LC5 vice chairperson and secretary for finance and administration Rebecca Akumu, Health will take Shs16 billion, administration Sshs9 billions, production and marketing Shs5 billion, while roads, water and engineering are allocated Shs4 billion. Shs2 billion has been extended to statutory bodies.

Additionally, community-based services were allocated Shs1.2 billion, natural resources Shs439 million, finance Shs414 million while the planning department was offered Shs283 million shillings.

Local authorities told Monitor that much of the education budget will go for construction of stanza pit latrines and classroom blocks among others. 

The municipality projects its local revenue at Shs3 billion and Shs69 billion shillings to come from the central government and donor financing in the FY2023/24.