Economic experts have urged accounting officers across the country to see to it that government projects don’t stall in the next financial year of 2023/24.

“We must address our public management system; there are projects that are just stalling which end up holding up money and I call upon accounting officers to adhere to this,” the executive director of Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group, Julius Mukunda, said.

He made the appeal at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday (May 30) during the launch of the National Budget month for the financial year 2023/24 by the secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, who represented the finance minister, Matia Kasaija.

On the project implementation challenges, Mukunda said the ministry of finance must look into the issue of the sh15 trillion undisbursed loan fund.

“Non-performing projects must be thrown out of our public investment plan to ensure fiscal space for other projects. The other issue that should be done is to punish errant accounting officers causing loss to the government,” he said.

Mukunda argued that the purpose of the National Budget month is to provide accountability to the public. 

“Ever since COVID-19 (struck), the component that has been missing is seeing Government ministries, departments and agencies display what they have been using the money for,” he said.

Dr. Arthur Bainomugisha, the executive director of Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment, said there was too much at the local government level to the extent that even the ministry of finance was worried about releasing more money to them.

“As a result, about sh1.3 trillion is still held at the centre (central government),” he noted.

Bainomugisha also said the rationalisation process had stalled. 

“We know it’s not a simple process but it is going to increase productivity and save about sh800b in public administration costs,” he said.

He, however, hailed the Government for the budget transparency and accountability issues which he said makes it “score high”. 

“However, the Government should address the challenge of corruption,” he stated. 

The director of policy and business development at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, Dr. Julius Byaruhanga, said he was happy that much of the extravagant spending by the Government was reducing. 

He, however, said the Government should address challenges that are hindering private sector growth.