POLITICS | PARLIAMENT | MP KIVUMBI 

KAMPALA - The Opposition side in Parliament has tasked the finance ministry with explaining why the budget allocation for the Contingency Fund was reduced threefold - from sh223.9b to sh62b.

The Contingency Fund is a government account onto which all government revenues and funds are paid to cater for any unforeseen scenarios or emergencies. 

The money is held in the form of liquid assets or cash.

Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi represented the Opposition on the matter.

He argued that budgeting for the fund is a statutory obligation stipulated in the Public Finance Management Act.

“The Act says that no budget should be passed without a Contingency Fund. Unfortunately, we had budgeted for it, but the Ministry of Finance removed the money. At one time, the ministry removed all the money yet it’s a command,” he said.

Kivumbi said budgeting for the Contingency Funds helps the government not to go for supplementary when disaster strikes.

“Parliament Committee on Budget should also take responsibility and apologise for approving the national budget for the year 2022/23 without a budget on the Fund,” he said.

Budget Committee chairperson Mudimi Wamakuyu said that the finance ministry had initially presented the national budget for the year 2022/23 with an allocation of sh223.9b to the Contingency Fund.

He said the ministry later presented an adjustment indicating that the budget had been reduced to sh62b.

Mudimi, who represents Elgon County in Parliament, said that the finance ministry explained to his committee that the money was reduced and channeled to debt servicing.

“The committee found it prudent that debt serving costs has a first call on the budget given the constraint on the resource envelop. We agreed that the item [debt servicing] should be prioritized,” he said.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa said that since the national budget was passed by Parliament, such cases should not arise again.