Parliament approves UGX 33Bn supplementary budget

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Parliament on Tuesday approved a supplementary budget of 33 Billion Shillings for the current financial year 2019/2020. The budget will cater for maintenance of several Kampala Capital City roads, interventions for street children and others. 

The funds were approved during a plenary session chaired by Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, following a Budget Committee report presented by the Chairperson Amos Lugoloobi.

Out of the approved 33.3 billion shillings, Shillings 10 billion is for maintenance works on Upper Kololo Terrace, Queensway, pothole patching on Wilson Road, Sikh Road, Channel Street, Johnston Street, Yusuf Lule Road, Portbell Road, Lubiri Ring Road, Masaka Road, Salaama Road, Luwafu Road, Naguru East road and Kira Road, among others.

Shillings 3.9 billion will go to the Ministry of Finance to cater for salary obligations under the Privatization Unit for five months from February to June 2020, 10 billion for Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) to operationalize the machining, manufacturing and industrial skills training centre at Namanve and others.

The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development will receive Shillings 2.4 billion to prioritize interventions targeting 1,500 street children and Shillings 776 million for Local Governments to cater for additional Local revenue collected by Luweero District, Mitooma District and Kyenjojo District. 

Additional co-funding of Shillings 9.062bn will go to the Uganda Inter-governmental Fiscal Transfer (UGIFT) to Local Governments for Seed Secondary Schools and upgrade of Health Centre IIs to Health Centre IIIs as Government policy. 

The approval came amidst concerns by MPs from across the political divide on the continued presence of supplementary budget requests that do not meet the guidelines outlined under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). The Act requires supplementary budget requests to be unavoidable, unforeseeable and absorbable. 

Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the Opposition Chief Whip blamed the government for poor planning saying that the funds being requested should have been accommodated in the budget for the current financial year 2019/2020.

Kadaga tasked Lugoloobi to explain to parliament whether the requested funds meant the guidelines provided for supplementary budgets.

But Lugoloobi defended the supplementary request said that it was in line with all financial requirements. He said that government cannot for example run away from its commitment to pay salaries of Privatization unit officers.

Following his submission, Kadaga put the question and the MPs approved the supplementary budget request.

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