The Lord Mayor of Kampala, Erias Lukwago, has expressed concern over a significant reduction in the city’s proposed budget, cautioning that the cut could disrupt key services and development projects in the capital.
As part of the national budget preparation process, government agencies are required to submit proposed budgets to parliamentary committees to guide planning and resource allocation.
Following a reminder from Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, city authorities convened an urgent meeting to finalise Kampala’s budget submission for Cabinet review before it is sent to Parliament on March 26.
However, Lukwago said city leaders were surprised to discover that Kampala’s allocation had been reduced from the usual Shs926 billion to roughly Shs720 billion, a decrease of about Shs233 billion.
He noted that the city had already flagged that previous allocations were insufficient to meet the capital’s growing demands.
“Instead of increasing the funding, the budget has been cut by about Shs233 billion, leaving us with roughly Shs720 billion,” Lukwago said.
Under his development plan, Kampala requires nearly Shs10 trillion to effectively address infrastructure, urban development, and service delivery needs. The Lord Mayor added that previous government commitments to gradually increase funding to Shs2.4 trillion annually, beginning in 2016, have not been fulfilled.
“When the city is not given adequate resources, or when funding is delayed, it disrupts operations and affects the delivery of services to residents,” Lukwago warned.
During a meeting last Tuesday involving city planners and officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development through the Minister for Kampala Affairs, city authorities were advised to convene an emergency council session to address the budget shortfall.
The council has since resolved to formally write to the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, seeking intervention to safeguard Kampala’s development and operational needs.
“I do not want to leave office when the city’s operations are paralyzed because of inadequate funding,” Lukwago said.
City officials now hope that Parliament will act to ensure sufficient resources are allocated to Kampala ahead of the new financial year.
