Parliament on Wednesday passed a 29-trillion-Shillings budget for the 2017/2018 financial year after a prolonged debate.
The House presided over by the Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah managed to beat the deadline set by the Public Finance Act which requires legislators to have the budget approved by 31st May.
The new budget will see expenditures for the next financial increase by three trillion shillings from the 26 trillion shillings allocated in the 2016/2017 financial year.
The Opposition in Parliament had bitterly opposed the budgetary proposals especially plans to spend money on the oil roads in the absence of feasibility studies.
The opposition with a minority report wanted government to a re-allocate 705 billion Shillings budgeted for construction of 15 oil roads.
The opposition said only two out of the planned 15 oil roads earmarked for funding in the next financial year had feasibility studies and have detailed designs.
Government allocated 1.3 trillion Shillings to the construction of the 15 oil roads in the coming financial year. The total works and transport budget proposed is 4.6 trillion Shillings.
The roads with complete feasibility studies and detailed designs are Hoima- Butiaba – Wanseko road whose construction is budgeted at 444 billion Shillings and Lusalira – Nkonge – Ssembabule road budgeted at 190.8 billion.
The roads whose construction the opposition is contesting due to absence of feasibility studies include Masindi- Biiso road budgeted at 108 billion Shillings, Masindi-Bugungu via Murchison Falls National park budgeted at 152 billion, Kaseeta – Lwera via Bugoma Forest whose budget is 34 billion, and Wanseko – Bugungu road estimated to cost close to 5. billion shillings.
Others are Buhimba- Nalweyo-Kakindu-Kakumiro road estimated to cost over 195 billion Shillings, Kyotera – Rakai road at 43 billion shillings, and Kabaale – Kiziranfumbi road budgeted at 56.8 billion shillings. Also on the list are a Bridge at Paraa Crossing to cost 8.7 billion shillings and Hahwa – Nyairongo- Kyarushesha road estimated to cost 54.3 billion shillings.
Dokolo Woman MP Cecilia Ogwal presented the minority report on the floor of parliament this afternoon. She said it was not prudent for parliament to appropriate funds to 13 roads that lack feasibility studies and detailed designs.
“There is no basis to inform the costs and commit public funds,” said Ogwal.
She further demanded that 705 billion Shillings be reallocated from oil roads without feasibility studies and detailed designs to fund other priority budget items.
The opposition demands touch one of the 2017/2018 proposed financial year budget focus areas. Government seeks to intensify transport infrastructure development to lower production costs as well as completing oil-related infrastructure development to enable commercialisation and the first oil output in 2020.
The opposition’s demands could however not sail through. They were defeated by the majority ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) legislators who turned up to vote in favour of the budget proposals.
The largest proportion of the resources have been allocated to works and transport sector taking 4.6 trillion Shillings followed by Education at 2.4 trillion. Energy and Mineral Development takes 2.3 trillion with Health and Security taking 1.8 trillion and 1.4 trillion Shillings respectively.
Key sectors like Agriculture have been allocated 863 billion Shillings while Water and Environment takes 595 billion Shillings.
The budget focus according to parliament’s budget committee chairperson, Amos Lugoloobi, is on increasing agricultural production and productivity for food security and strategic exports. It also focuses on enhancing private sector development for export promotion and import substitution.
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija is expected to present details of the budget in his Budget speech scheduled for June 8th.
Parliament approved the Budget in line with Section 14 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) that now requires parliament to approve the budget before it’s read out to the public.
Out of the 29 trillion budget, 7.6 trillion will go towards recurrent expenditure, 11.4 trillion for development expenditure while 9.9 trillion is for statutory expenditure.
Revenue measure
According to Lugoloobi, the Ntenjeru North MP, domestic revenue collections are projected at 16.6 trillion Shillings in the financial year 2017/2018.
The projected revenue is equivalent to 15.2% of GDP against 14.42% of GDP in the financial year 2016/2017.
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