Wakiso requests Shs6.5 billion supplementary budget

Mr Alfred Malinga, the Wakiso District chief administrative officer, said they had some financial shortages in this ending financial year and needed an emergency response thus pushing for a supplementary budget.

“The money was not enough to fully pay workers and we used some from the fourth quarters to settle workers’ outstanding salary arrears,” he said during an interview on June 7.

He added that they had allocated Shs40b for payment of staff salaries but it was not enough because there were  new recruitments conducted during the same year.

Mr Malinga further said the new staff were recruited in the departments of  education, health and production. However, he did not give the exact number of newly recruited members of staff.

But by June 2023, the district had a total of 3,883 members of staff on the government payroll.

The education sector had the highest number of civil servants who take  Shs15.4b in salaries.

Out of the requested supplementary budget, the district received Shs5.1 billion from the government and has been allocated to pay salaries, gratuity and pensions.

The district also received Shs219m from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) for micro projects under the Luwero-Rwenzori support programme.

“This is empowerment fund to vulnerable groups identified by OPM to enhance their household incomes through agriculture production and value addition, among others. The OPM identifies those groups and generates a list which is presented to the district for verification,” Mr Malinga explained. 

The supplementary budget also has Shs200m for roads under Uganda Road Fund (URF) of which Shs165m, Mr Malinga said, will go towards rehabilitating Kyengera-Buddo Road.

In the same spirit, Shs25m is going to be injected in a pilot study of a new technology for use on the roads to improve their lifespan.

The new technology that has just been introduced in Uganda will be tested on the feeder roads within the district.

“Wakiso District was identified to pilot it (new technology). It uses soil and some chemicals to stabilise the roads. It works well, especially on high-density capacity roads with a lot of traffic,” Mr Malinga said.

In this pilot study, he said they are going to sample one kilometre road this month and hope to have seen the results. Mr Malinga added that the technology can increase the longevity of the roads after construction. 

Meanwhile, for the Financial Year 2024/2025, Wakiso passed a budget of Shs113b compared to Shs115b for the ending Financial Year 2023/2024.

“This implies that the budget has decreased by approximately 2 percent. The decrease is attributed to donors and other government transfers that have not yet been confirmed and non-release of indicative planning figures for nonwage sufficient for councilor allowance,” Mr Najja said. 

Wakiso District is currently grappling with challenges like poor roads and dilapidated structures in schools and health facilities, with 50 percent of the district’s 2023/2024    budget spent on salaries.

Local leaders and residents at the weekend said the disaster has affected access tg millions of people from their homes.

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