UPDF spends extra Shs400 billion in classified expenditure

Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs has spent an additional Shs400 billion in classified expenditure over and above what was provided and approved in the current financial year.

The details are contained in a Shs662.3 billion supplementary expenditure for 2019/2020 financial year, which was spent by government because but falls below the 3 per cent legal threshold which requires prior Parliamentary approval.

Section 25 of the Public Finance Management Act 2015 (as amended) allows government to spend up to 3 percent of the approved national budget and later seek retrospective approval.

The Committee on Budget, chaired by MP Amos Lugoloobi (NRM, Ntenjeru North), is considering the details of the appropriation, but is unhappy with the Finance Ministry for sourcing the funds through budget suppression.

“I think there should be some discussion; the practice has been suppression of the budget to finance supplementaries which is a violation of appropriation,” said Lugoloobi.

In budget suppression, the Ministry recovers money from different votes to finance the supplementaries, which Lugoloobi says violates Parliament’s constitutional right to appropriate.

In a letter written to the Committee by Keith Muhakanizi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, who is also the Secretary to Treasury, asked Parliament to make arrangements for the Finance Minister Matia Kasaija to formally table the documents.

State House has also spent Shs35.2 billion in classified expenditure, and an extra Shs17 billion as “funding for purchase of transport equipment.”

The Uganda Police Force has also used Shs52.5 billion as “institutional support to UPF retooling to cater for early retirement…[and] balance outstanding on telecommunications and intelligence monitoring systems and data monitoring systems.”

To implement the new curriculum, government is spending Shs 10.3 billion, the bulk of which will be used for sensitization seminars and workshops, while Shs3.7 billion is to be used in stationery.

Ministry of Finance is spending Shs 73 billion, including funds for workshops and consultancy.

Kampala Capital City Authority was given Shs10 billion to cater for “emergency road maintenance”, while the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has paid out Shs5.6 billion to compensate for ranches taken over by government.

Government is also constructing seed secondary schools, Health Centre IIs and IIIs worth Shs 9 billion.

To avert future budget suppression, the Committee is drafting guidelines to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance as a checklist for use before any such expenditure is approved in future.

“We have made it a normal way of doing business…even when they allow the Ministry 3 per cent…I don’t think I don’t think that the framers of the law intended that for every other issue, they will do a supplementary,” said MP Muhammad Kivumbi (DP, Butambala).

The documents are to be laid before Parliament within four months after expenditure as required by Section 25(2) of the Public Finance Management Act.