Africa-Press – Uganda. Government has spent more than Shs11 trillion in the last five years in supplementary budgets, raising questions about its financial discipline and what the money is spent on.
Since the 2016/17 financial year, the supplementary budgets have come in droves. In Financial Year 2016/17, the supplementary budget stood at Shs959 billion and in 2017/18, the figures rose up to Shs1.7 trillion, while in 2018/19, the figure reduced to Shs1.6 trillion.
The Financial Year 2019/20 saw the figures rising to Shs2.1 trillion, and in 2020/21, they more than doubled to Shs4.8 trillion.
Last month, the minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development laid before Parliament Supplementary Expenditure Estimates amounting to Shs3.8 trillion, which is 8.5 percent of the approved budget of Shs44.778 trillion for the Financial Year 2021/ 22.
According to the request, government would fund the supplementary through suppression within budgets totaling to Shs1.3 billion, additional borrowing of Shs2.1 billion while external financing stands at Shs471 billion, bringing the grand total to Shs3.8 billion.
A minority report by a section of budget committee members accused the Finance ministry and government of financial indiscipline. The report also accused the government of what it called illegal cuts in the approved budgets.
The minority report says during budget execution, the Secretary to Treasury under Regulation14 (4) of the Public Finance Management Act is only permitted to revise annual cash flow plan of government not to suppress approved budgets and reallocate funds.
“This amounts to amendment of Appropriation Act 2021 without Parliament’s approval and undertaking subsidiary appropriation that seizes the appropriation powers of Parliament,” the report says. Section 25(1) of the Public Finance Management Act (as amended) states: “The total supplementary expenditure that requires additional resources over and above what is approved by Parliament, shall not exceed 3 percent of the total approved budget for that financial year, without approval of Parliament.”
The report says the minister for Finance should be cautioned against subsidiary appropriation and authorisation of supplementary budgets for expenditures for which Parliament declined approval and appropriation.
A number of ministries, departments and agencies have been faulted for spending more money in supplementary budgets than their annual approved budgets. For example, the Ministry of Trade, Industries and Cooperatives has an approved budget of Shs100.8 billion, while its supplementary request stands at Shs173.8 billion; and the Office of Prime Minister’s budget is Shs195 billion while its supplementary request is Shs243.4 billion.
The minority report faults the majority report for approving a supplementary budget of Shs54.35 billion, which it says was for items foreseeable at the time of budgeting.
Among these include Shs10 billion for procurement of vehicles under the Internal Security Organisation; Shs8.4 billion for purchase of vehicles for the Office of the President; Shs2.8 billion for ministry of Trade and Shs550 million for purchase of vehicles for State minister for Economic Monitoring.
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