Mpuuga says opposition to produce alternative budget proposals from now on 

Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga has said that they will start presenting to the country budget alternatives instead of waiting on the government. 

Mpuuga said the opposition has realised that reacting to government budgets is not helping the country hence the change in approach. 

The LOP made the remarks while addressing members of the Shadow Cabinet at the opening of a three-day retreat which is taking place at Imperial Golf View Hotel in Entebbe to develop the Alternative National Budget.

Mpuuga explained that the new approach is in line with their mandate to keep the government in check, adding that it is their duty to deeply study the prepositions of the government and put some level of imagination and produce alternatives.

“The mandate is to produce alternatives but not to support, not to clarify and not in any way recommend or patch up government policies. We are not supposed to clean up their mess. our job is to offer citizens a cleaner and better alternative," he said.

This new approach, Mpuuga said, was conceived after realising that the government mostly presents to Parliament recycled budget proposals.

"We remember the embarrassment Parliament suffered last Financial Year when ministers presented the same documents from the previous year with the only change being the financial year. The rest was the same including the preamble," Mpuuga said.

"In other jurisdictions, that would be a scandal of great magnitude but because we have been allowed to be used to shame, they got away with this murder of sorts," he added.

He invited his ministers to appreciate their oversight role under the new programme-based planning and budgeting which was developed under the National Development Programme III (NDP III).

During the retreat, the Shadow Cabinet is going to generate priorities for the next financial year which will form the Opposition's proposals in the alternative national budget to be unveiled to the country in April.