Opposition calls for leaner government

By Moses Walubiri and Henry Sekanjako

The opposition in parliament has recommended the downsizing of the entire structure of governance including ministers and MPs in order to stem what it called “runaway costs on political administration.”

In his response to the 2012/13 government budget statement, the shadow finance minister, Geoffrey Ekanya, faulted government on a number of key economic indicators and allocation of funds in his 28 page statement to the House on Tuesday.

The opposition wants ministers not to exceed 42, RDCs and presidential advisors downsized, and the creation of a separate ministry of planning from ministry of Finance.

“Expenditure on public administration accounts for 42% of total recurrent expenditure which is economically untenable,” Ekanya said.

In the 2012/13 budget, total recurrent expenditure is sh5.5 trillion representing 49.9% of the budget, while public management and administration take more money than the entire budget of the health sector (sh849.5b).

This, the opposition believes, “will help save enough funds to help enhance workers’ pay and improve health services, improve school infrastructure, and even afford free lunch for pupils in UPE schools.”

The statement which was not debated by the House also chided government for allocating insufficient funds to the Tourism and Agriculture sectors, their huge contribution to the national economy notwithstanding.

The opposition contends that Uganda can earn more from tourism if government packaged education, history, culture and local cuisine as part of the country’s Tourism potential, instead of only National Parks.

The Tourism sector contributes 9.2% of the Gross Domestic Product, but it got allocated 0.13% of the total Budget in the current financial year.

With Uganda having one of the youngest populations, fastest population growth rate (at 3.5% per annum) and blighted with a high unemployment rate, Ekanya said that “only viable investment in sectors with big multiplier effect can better secure the country’s economic future.”

At 3.2%, Uganda had the lowest economic growth rate in the East African region in the financial year 2011/12.

Despite suffering from the same economic shocks as Uganda’s economy, the economies of Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya grew at 8.6%, 7.3%, 5.2% and 4.5% respectively.