Finance, civil society push for better use of budget money

May 08, 2014

The finance ministry has said improving the availability of budget information should lead to better use of tax payers’ money following a partnership between the Government and civil society.

By David Mugabe

The finance ministry has said improving the availability of budget information should lead to better use of tax payers’ money following a partnership between the Government and civil society.


Kenneth Mugambe, the director of budget at the finance ministry, explained yesterday that with civil society monitoring budget fundings, there should be better service delivery.

The partnership between the finance ministry and civil society spearheaded by Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) is borne from the shortcomings manifested in the poor quality of various services without tangible action taken against those responsible for providing the services.

“Most of the money was coming back to the centre, civil awareness is poor,” said Dr. Arthur Bainomugisha, the executive director ACODE. Bainomugisha explained that through a short message (sms), they are now able to notify budget champions about the disbursement of funds.

“Then people can demand for services. We are building on the demand side so the Government can supply,” said Bainomugisha.

Uganda spent sh13 trillion in the 2013/2014 budget. Of this, education and infrastructure projects took the largest share. For education, a continuous outcry on money pillaged through ghost teachers and uncompleted works shows that the citizenry are shortchanged on quality education.

Mugambe said the ministry is limiting cash transactions, as well as operating the Treasury single account, where all accounts are consolidated and government agencies submit invoices and the Treasury pays directly to service provider.

On Thursday, the finance ministry and civil society will host a cross section of MPs, academics and finance technocrats. The meeting will be televised live on social media. The idea, according to Mugambe, is to bring eminent people to debate and influence the Government to invest in priority areas.

The Uganda Revenue Authority continues to post revenue shortfalls, which, if carried into the next year, may hurt budget funding.

 RELATED ARTICLES

BUDGET: How sh12 trillion could be shared

Local Gov'ts want their share of national budget doubled

UPC wants 20% of budget for education

World Bank stops supporting Uganda's budget

Budget 2013/14 reading

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});