Ntungamo passes Shs69 billion budget

Uganda's legal tender. PHOTO/COURTESY

The Ntungamo District council has passed Shs68billion budget for the Financial Year 2023/2024, decrying irregular indicative planning figures (IPFs) and late releases of monies including funds usually taken to the treasury.

The FY2023/24 budget aims to fund key infrastructure, human resources, social services development and general development of the district, according to authorities.

“We are getting varying figures for planning our processes. Our biggest priorities that are the real indicators of development are not properly funded or given priority an issue that causes us to plan poorly. The biggest challenge is however when the IPFs change all the time,” Ntungamo District chairman Sam Mucunguzi Rwakigoba noted.

Whenever there are changes in IPFs, the district is required to have a supplementary budget which at times delays activities as the council only seats every three months, local leaders said.

The district secretary for finance and administration, Grace Twinomujuni, highlighted that the national treasury’s failure to return unspent money to local governments, especially the one for contracts and wage bill, fails delivery of services and increases the district debt burden.

“Much of this money we are challenged with spending is what was sent back as unspent balances at the closure of the last financial year. Much of the money was for contracts and it’s hard to advertise, procure and execute these contracts in a month like it’s hard to recruit workers in one month. We may see money going back again; we have just received the money for wage,” Twinomujuni noted.

The district has prioritized spending on roads infrastructure, education, health with the construction and upgrading of health centre IIs to health Centre IIIs, building classrooms and rehabilitation of major roads.

However, 78 per cent of the budget shall go to payment of wages of workers in the district. Only 22% shall go to service delivery.

The budget is 96 per cent funded by the central government with local revenue expected to contribute 1.5 per cent while donors will contribute 2.5 per cent.  

The district Clerk to council Shallon Muhangi observed that the passed budget is not necessarily the final planning document as the centre may review the IPFS with time before the closure of the financial year.