By eastafrican gazette
The Parliament’s Budget Committee has declined a supplementary budget of Uganda shs288billion that was requested by the government.
The rejection was based on grounds that the request was brought forward unlawfully, referred by Speaker of Parliament.
The additional budget was submitted to the budget committee without Parliament’s approval in order to supplement the already approved supplementary schedules 1 and 2 totalling shs4.593trillion.
The additional budget is intended to provide funding for various entities, such as the National Council of Sports receiving shs152billion, Uganda National Oil Company receiving shs132.634billion, Uganda Blood Transfusion Service receiving shs2.5billion, and the Uganda Embassy in Gevena to receive shs1.4billion.
Members of the budget committee requested the chairperson to clarify the legality of the speaker’s referral of the matter to the committee, as the law dictates that the committee is limited to handling business referred by the house.
Ssemujju Nganda, the Member of Parliament for Kira Municipality, emphasized in his statement that the budget committee is solely referred to by the house, highlighting that the Speaker is not the house, and can not act outside the law.
Nganda, the shadow finance minister, also pointed out discrepancies in the schedule that was changed just days before the end of the financial year, raising concerns about its implementation.
“It is going to be very difficult for anyone to absorb this money because government procedures intended to protect taxpayers’ money are too procedural, they are too many. In the remaining 20 days or one month to close the financial year, you can’t fulfill any of the requirements, not even procurement,” he noted.
State Minister for Finance, Henry Musasizi said the funds will be sourced from the petroleum fund, which currently has a balance of shs400billion.
Isiagi Opolot, the chairperson of the committee, emphasized that the committee cannot begin processing the supplementary request until it is the business of the house to determine the next course of action.
“The House will decide either to process it there or delegate it to this committee,” Opolot noted.
They eventually reached a consensus to present the additional request to parliament on May 16, 2024.
Musasizi provided further details on the shs1.4bn designated for the Uganda Embassy in Geneva, citing accumulated dues for rent, salaries, medical insurance, and utilities that must be settled to avoid legal action by the landlord.
He warned that failure to approve the funds could lead to penalties from the landlord.
“This is an increased schedule on account of Uganda’s assumption of chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement. This will be funded using savings from wage after the audit of the wage bill,” Musasizi said.
Uganda played host of the 19th Global Non-Aligned Movement Summit (NAM) and took on the chairmanship of the organization for the next three years, since January 2024 this year (2024).
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