BUDGET ALLOCATION: How Ministries Plan To Share National Cake

In less than three weeks time, tax payers will be helplessly holding their poverty-sunken cheeks in awe as government ministries share the national ‘carcass’ during the National Budget Day.

With Shs30.2trillion expected to be shared among various entities in the 2017/2018 Financial Year that kicks off in June, parliamentary sectoral committees have this week been presenting budget estimates for ministries for adoption.

It should be remembered that on June 08, 2016, government allocated Shs26.3 trillion for 2016/17 national budget with hopes to deliver Uganda into middle-income status as sectors like electricity, oil and gas, ICT, education, health and agriculture received substantial funding.

However, it remains absurd that that over 28% of the total population are still grappling in acute food insecurity.

We reveal which ministry will get what in the 2017/18 budgetary allocation.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

According to a report from Presidential Affairs Committee, the proposed budgetary allocation to Office of the President reflects a 2.8% increment from Shs52.8bn in FY 2016/17 to Shs54.9bn in FY 2017/18.

In a report that was presented to parliament by Presidential Affairs Committee chairperson Fred Mwesigye (Nyabushozi County), the Office of the President wants another Shs5.6bn in the FY 2017/18 to enable appointment and facilitation of 10 RDCs. The RDCs are fill the newly created districts of Kagadi, Kakumiro, Omoro and Rubanda and other districts of Namisindwa, Pakwach, Butebo, Rukiga, Kyotera and Bunyangabo that will come into operation next financial year.

INTERNAL SECURITY ORGANISATION (ISO)

Internal Security Organization (ISO) is a top counter intelligence agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to Uganda’s policy makers. It also engages in covert activities at the request of the President. Even with increased terror activities this year, the 2017/18 budget of ISO is proposed at Shs61.2bn- a drop by 2.9% from the FY 2016/17 approved budget.

According to a committee report, part of the proposed budget (Shs22.2bn) will go to procure 134 motor vehicles and another Shs17.8bn will procure 1443 motorcycles. ISO also plans to spend Shs5bn to purchase 10acres of land for the construction of offices after it emerged that the security agency was spending a whopping Shs1.4bn on rent.

STATE HOUSE

Despite recently asking for a supplementary budget amounting to a tune of Shs23.1bn, State House will surprisingly see its total proposed allocation drop by   4.6% in the next financial year. In FY 2016/17, government allocated Shs257.4bn to State House, but as the financial year neared its end, State House Comptroller, Lucy Nakyobe while appearing before the Parliamentary Budget Committee two weeks ago defended the Shs23.1b supplementary budget saying that, “The vote has exhausted its annual provision on several Non-Wage Recurrent Items and requires additional funding to settle the outstanding obligations as well as facilitate operations through the remaining period of the financial year.”

In FY 2017/18, State House’s budget is projected at Shs245.5bn following a 10% budget cut on travel inland, allowances and special meals that MPs have considered consumptive.

However, the committee on Presidential Affairs recommended that State House be exempted from the 10% budget cut saying that, “this constrains the Presidency from executing the constitutional and administrative role.”

ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

Fr. Simon Lokodo’s ministry of Ethics and Integrity will in the next financial year certainly take home Shs4.1bn despite bagging Shs5.5bn in FY 2016/17. In a bid to operationalise Anti-Pornography Act, 2014, minister Lokodo will get Shs2.6bn to work hand in hand with Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) in order to bring culprits to book. A few days ago, Lokodo ordered for the arrest of renowned movie translator and commentator Marysmats Matovu aka VJ Junior on grounds that he and others still at large have for long been producing and circulating pornographic materials on CDs, flash discs and other devices across the country.

EXTERNAL SECURITY ORGANISATION (ESO)

Unlike ISO, External Security Organisation (ESO) is a security agency, mandated to collect, analyse and process information related to external security threats with the objective of informing national policy makers in the country.

In the FY 2017/18, the total proposed allocation to ESO is Shs31.3bn, reflecting an increment of 16.4% against the FY 2016/17 approved budget.

The committee on Presidential Affairs defended the proposed increment on grounds that out of the 35 Uganda’s Foreign Missions, ESO has a deployment in only 18 countries.

“The committee observes that inadequate foreign deployment undermines the ability of ESO to collect foreign intelligence information,” the report reads.

The committee recommended that funding gap of Shs15bn be provided to enable ESO to deploy in all Uganda’s foreign missions and other countries of security interest.

KCCA 

Jennifer Musisi’s Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) will pocket Shs337.4bn in the next financial year for its operations. This is a 40.2% reduction from the FY 2016/17 approved budget.

MP Mwesigye’s committee report noted that KCCA has set proposed allocations that do not reflect linkage to core mandate of the Authority.

“The committee recommends that KCCA adopts efficiency measures in Administration and Human Resource and Executive Support in form of budget allocative efficiency through allocating resources to priority areas,” the report adds.

OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) is among those few entities that will have a bumper harvest in the FY 2017/18 with a proposed budget of a whopping Shs310.1bn, reflecting a 61% increment against the FY 2016/17.

Part of the budget is to ensure that OPM puts up disaster preparedness interventions such as coordinating synergies in different sectors to ensure that there is water for production in all water stressed areas in form of irrigation schemes. OPM will also use part of its proposed budget to resettle internally displaced persons that will take a tune of Shs8bn.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Having pocketed Shs2.74trillion in the FY 2016/17, Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports may in the next FY take a small 1.35% increment (Shs2.78trn). According to a report from the Committee on Education and Sports, upon its approval, the ministry will disburse part of the money (Shs5bn) to the teachers’ SACCOs to enhance their motivation.

The sector will also recruit 2000 science teachers to reduce on the shortfall of science teachers. The ministry will also establish secondary schools in sub counties without government schools at a total of Shs8.8bn.

UNRA

According to a report from Committee on Physical Infrastructure, Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) is proposed to grow by Shs984.6bn from its FY 2016/17 level of Shs2.63trillion to 3.61trn in FY 2017/18 representing a growth of 37%.

The report that was presented to parliament says that the increment in UNRA’s budget is attributed to the several ongoing infrastructural projects, but also the 13 new Oil road projects to commence in the coming FY, proposed to cost Shs1.34trn.

OTHERS