Shs230b presidential pledges budget could build 58 schools

On Wednesday, the junior minister for Economic Monitoring, Mr Peter Ogwang, tabled before the parliamentary Committee on Presidential Affairs the State House budget framework paper for Financial Year 2022/2023. 

In the budget, the State House requested for Shs230b to clear the pledges of donations that the President has made over time in a phased manner. 

The money requested is aimed at honouring at least 80 percent of formal pledge requests and paying school fees for 3,425 sponsored students.  

In calculations done by this newspaper, however, the money could be used to build 58 schools at sub-county level.  

This figure was arrived at after considering the approval last year by the parliamentary Education Committee of a Shs529b loan for the Ministry of Education to construct schools in several sub-counties across the country. 

The ministry said the Shs529b was to construct 116 schools, of which 84 were to be in non-refugee hosting districts, while 32 new schools were in the refugee-hosting districts.  

The allocations
In his presentation, Mr Ogwang said Shs91.4b has been allocated for clearance of the pledges out of the desired Shs231.4b, thus leaving a funding gap of Shs139b. 

Another State House budget item that Mr Ogwang presented is what was termed as ‘mobilisation for peace, transformation, and prosperity’ in all the four regions, which needs about Shs109.731b.

Although they were never successful, in November last year, a group of legislators had asked that Shs100 million be set aside for each school as a recovery package to assist schools and other institutions of learning as they planned to reopen.

Legislators contended that the two-year closure of educational institutions due to the Covid-19 pandemic had crippled private institutions’ ability to continue in service delivery, a reason government must come in with a rescue plan.

“We are saying give each private school Shs100m to be able to start, to paint, to clean the school and also prepare,” Igara East Michael MP Mawanda during a sitting of Parliament’s Committee on Education and Sports, adding that some schools had lost property yet their main source of income was school fees from parents, who had also been affected by the pandemic’.  

As schools reopened this month, they have defied directives by the Ministry of Education and hiked schools fees, citing inflation and debts that arose as a result of the shutdown.  

If the Shs109.7b the State House is requesting for ‘mobilisation for peace, transformation, and prosperity’ had been injected into schools, perhaps the tuition wouldn’t have been hiked as it has.  

The money could also be used to hire primary school teachers since the pupil-teacher ratio is high. 

According to the 2008 Education Act, the teacher-pupil ratio should be at least 1:53. However, a 2021 study by the Ministry of Education, showed that in districts such as Kyegegwa, the ratio is at 1:110. In Kitgum, it is at 1:59 and in Lamwo, it is at 1:71. 

Money is also needed to improve the desk-pupil ratio. The Education Act stipulates a 1:3 desk pupil ratio. However, in Kyegegwa District, the ratio is at 1:6, in Mubende District, it is at 1:7 and in Lamwo District, it is at 1:10. 

The classroom pupil ratio, according to the study, stands at a minimum of 1:77 and a maximum of 1:170 instead of the 1:54 stated by the Education Act.

The State House budget in the current Financial Year 2021/2022 shot up from Shs410b to Shs891b. The Shs478b increment has been spent on emerging issues under classified expenditure catered for in the supplementary budget.

The committee chaired by Adjumani Woman MP Jesca Ababiku, advised State House to increase its budget for the presidential initiative on model villages, saying the Shs2b allocated is insufficient and has had little impact.

“The entire country has been operating only on Shs2b, as such if you go to villages, you will not see any model village, the Shs2b is spent on operations and management,” Ms Ababiku said, adding that it was critical for State House to note that failure on presidential initiatives has a bearing on the image of the President.

“At the budgeting time, they don’t give us what we want and when the needs arise, we are asked why we didn’t budget. So they should give us what we are asking for,” Mr Ogwang told journalists briefly after the meeting.

State House has also requested for Shs39.3b to renovate the Entebbe State House, Nakasero State Lodge, and 24 other upcountry State lodges. 

However, in the FY 2022/2023 budget framework paper, Shs12b is what has been provided.

According to Mr Ogwang, the Entebbe-based State House has never been renovated ever since it was refurbished in 2007 at the time when Uganda hosted the Commonwealth of Government meeting (Chogm).

“Ever since the Entebbe State House was constructed 15 years ago, no major renovation has been done, and some of us who go there can confirm that it needs major renovation. State House is the image of our country where the President hosts dignitaries,” Mr Ogwang said.

He added that the State lodges require rehabilitation to facilitate the President’s upcountry engagements.

“Even in our own homes, we carry out renovations as of when it necessitates,” Mr Ogwang said.

The committee also raised concern about several government agencies engaged in monitoring government programmes, noting that it could be a duplication of duties and waste of resources.

Mr Ogwang, however, assured the MPs that he is working in tandem with the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, the office of the Inspector General of Government (IGG) and the police.  

“There are some people who feel untouchable that when you send one agency, it fails to perform, as such we now have a team with technical people from the relevant anti-corruption organs,” he said.

The biggest budget item Mr Ogwang presented was that of security to the President, Vice President, and their immediate families.  

Security
To provide security to the First Family and that of the Vice President, the State House wants Shs249 billion but only Shs136 billion is readily available, leaving a funding gap of Shs113b.  

President Museveni has insisted that there will be no pay rise for teachers of humanities, torpedoing a 2018 collective bargaining agreement under which the government pledged a uniform salary increase for all teachers.

Mr Museveni, in a televised address during the national celebrations to mark World Teachers’ Day at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala, said he would prioritise higher remuneration for science teachers, whom he qualified as those teaching Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and ICT at the level of secondary school and above. 

He said the government was prioritising them because they directly contribute to societal advances and improved livelihoods, unlike their arts counterparts.

“This idea we are telling you, please, we want to increase the salaries of all the teachers and all the public servants, but if we do not have enough money, what do we do? Why don’t we start with some, some that are most needed and these are the science cadres in different areas,” Mr Museveni said.

He added: “This is our ideology from the bush [when he led the guerrilla war that brought him to power in 1986]; it is not a new position. This resistance you [arts teachers] are launching against our long-held position is not correct. I would advise you to calm down and stop obstructing our plan because it is well-thought-out.” 

State House supplementary
In a supplementary budget passed at the end of last year by Parliament, the State House took the lion’s share: Shs400b was approved under the Ministry of Defence to meet operational shortfalls, Shs27b for the Office of the President to support the work of presidential advisors, settlement of court awards and salaries, while Shs56b was approved for setting up a Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing plant, and an anti-tick development project, all under State House.