Prime
MPs approve Shs288b supplementary budget
State Minister for Finance Henry Musasizi appears before the Budget Committee at Parliament on May 15, 2024. PHOTO/DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- In his presentation, the state minister for Finance in-charge of General Duties, Mr Henry Musasizi, stated that out of the approved Shs288.624 billion, Shs132.634 billion will go towards Unoc.
Parliament has approved a Shs288.624 billion supplementary budget to bankroll four items for the 2023/2024 Financial Year that will close in less than two months.
This makes it the third supplementary budget cleared in the current financial year with first and second one being Shs3.492 trillion and 1.101 trillion respectively.
In his presentation, the state minister for Finance in-charge of General Duties, Mr Henry Musasizi, stated that out of the approved Shs288.624 billion, Shs132.634 billion will go towards the Uganda National Oil Company (Unoc) for shares in the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
“This funding for Uganda National Oil Company (Unoc) needed for additional equity acquisition in East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), to meet the cash call arising from delayed financial close by the financiers,” he said, adding that “This is required before July 1, 2024, in order to meet the funding obligations in the EACOP project.”
Additionally, Shs152 billion is planned for the construction of Hoima City Stadium by the National Council of Sports in preparation for the 2027 African Cup of Nations.
“Shs152 billion as 30 percent advance payment for the construction of Hoima City Stadium in preparation for Afcon27,” Mr Musasizi said.
He added: “This funding will enable the contractor (M/S Summa) to commence construction of the stadium to be ready before the deadline of December 31, 2025 required by Confederation of African Football (CAF) for Uganda to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.”
Meanwhile, Shs2.5 billion scheduled for Uganda Blood Transfusion Service to cover shortfalls suffered in its operational budget activities such as blood collection, processing and distribution.
After the latest supplementary budget was cleared by the Cabinet on Monday, Minister Musasizi presented it to Parliament’s Budget Committee on Wednesday afternoon. This budget was initially thrown out and later stood over.
Consequently, the Shs288.624 billion was cleared by the plenary sitting convened yesterday morning although it still faced resistance from the Shadow Finance Minister, Mr Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda. He reasoned that government regular and frequent supplementary budgets are prone to abuse and fiscal indiscipline as noted in the 2022/2023 Auditor General’s report.
The three supplementary budgets that have since been cleared by Parliament will, therefore, lead to an upward adjustment to the Shs52.736 trillion budget approved last year.
