Parliament has approved over Shs8 trillion in supplementary funding for the financial year 2025/2026 to support key development projects, including road infrastructure, health and agriculture services, among others.
According to the State Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development (General Duties), Henry Musasizi, said that the funding for the activities under Supplementary Schedules 1, 2, and 3 is over and above the budget of the financial year, but falls within three percent of the total approved budget of about Shs2.376 trillion.
“We have incurred expenditures that had been unforeseen and unavoidable at the time of budgeting. These fall within the three percent requirement and we are requesting parliament to consider these expenditures and approve them in order to regularize the process,” said Musasizi, while seeking the Parliamentary approval during a plenary sitting chaired by Speaker Anita Among, on Tuesday.
According to the report presented by the Chairperson of the Budget Committee, Patrick Opolot Isiagi, the supplementary schedules will be funded through non-tax revenue (Shs42.96 billion), local revenue (Shs13.03 billion), domestic borrowing (Shs3.7 trillion), and external financing (Shs4.27 trillion)
Under Supplementary Schedule I, Shs1.65 trillion is expected to facilitate, among other things, the funding of shortfalls created by the withdrawal of US funding for essential health services in Uganda, thereby avoiding drug stockouts and other health-related crises.
Further, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will receive Shs3 billion to host the 18th Ministerial mid-term review meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), whereas Shs6.92 billion will support recruitment expenses for the newly created grant-aided Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers Program Project for Uganda (UgIFT) seed secondary schools.
A total of Shs1.69 trillion is to be availed to the Ministry of Works and Transport under Supplementary Schedule II, to facilitate 395km of seven suspended projects, including the Kampala-Jinja Highway (72 kilometres); 533km of 11 projects under reduced progress; and nine bridge projects affected by financing constraints.
Under Supplementary Schedule III, Shs4.75 trillion will be provided to, among others, enable the Commission of Inquiry into the Apaa land dispute to carry out its duties with funding of Shs7.95 billion, following a Presidential directive on the matter.
The supplementary schedule will also provide up to Shs422.26 billion to purchase additional aircraft under Uganda Airlines, including two Dreamliner Boeing passenger aircraft, one Boeing freighter, and two mid-range Airbus aircraft, as well as associated bridge leasing costs.
Construction of community access roads in 81 district local governments will be supported with Shs37.5 billion under the national oil seeds project, whereas the national ambulance system will be facilitated with Shs10 billion, noting that most ambulances are not operational due to inadequate fuel and mechanical breakdowns.
However, in a minority report to the House, Kira Municipality legislator Ibrahim Ssemujju, challenged the proposed supplementary schedules over their size and character, noting repeated supplementary financing for long-standing obligations in the sectors of agriculture, works, energy, health and defence.
“Parliament is being asked to approve more than Shs6 trillion in supplementary funding. If this continues, we will soon reach a point where the annual budget is treated as a ceremonial event while the real spending happens through supplementary schedules,” Ssemujju said.
He further noted, “Road contracts that have been running for years cannot be classified as emergencies. These are predictable matters that should have been foreseen in the main budget.”
Ssemujju called for a detailed report on Uganda Airlines aircraft purchases before approval, as well as mandated quarterly implementation reports to Parliament for all approved supplementary expenditures.
“The Ministry is requesting more than Shs400 billion to purchase new aircraft for Uganda Airlines, yet the country has not recovered from the Bombardier deal, where we purchased aircraft that were already being phased out. Before the government buys any new aircraft, a thorough due diligence process must be presented,” Ssemujju added.
The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, also challenged the proposed supplementary schedules while alluding to Regulation 18(5) of the Public Finance Management Regulations 2016.
It states; “Parliament may approve a supplementary appropriation or the Minister may approve a supplementary budget, as the case may be, where the supplementary expenditure is unabsorbable, unavoidable and unforeseeable.”
“When we were here planning for the budget process, why did you not bring these issues then, why now? This is a bad planning issue,” Ssenyonyi said.
