Sh10b extra spent on MPs allowances
Feb 19, 2008
The Government has spent sh198b over and above the approved budget for the financial year 2007/2008, said finance minister Dr. Ezra Suruma.
By Barbara Among and Mary Karugaba
The Government has spent sh198b over and above the approved budget for the financial year 2007/2008, said finance minister Dr. Ezra Suruma.
Presenting the supplementary budget requirements to the NRM caucus, attended by President Yoweri Museveni, yesterday, Suruma said a total of sh9.45b extra was spent on MPs’ allowances, particularly for travels to their constituencies. “The shortfalls are a result of the increase in mileage rates for murram and tarmac roads,†Suruma told the MPs at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
During the budget reading in June 2007, Suruma had already complained that increased pay for MPs would disrupt the budget. Ugandan MPs pocket between sh6m and sh9m a month.
Other additional expenditure included sh323m for settling the medical bill of Uganda Human Rights commissioner Father John Mary Waligo, sh15b for State House operations, sh1.4b for the Juba peace talks and sh21b for the redevelopment of State House, Entebbe.
An additional amount of sh2,8b was spent by the Office of the President on classified operations, while an extra sh3.4b went to classified operations in the Ministry of Defence. The biggest chunk of the additional sh198b, however, went to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), amounting to almost sh65b. Of this, sh62.6b went to additional funding for CHOGM activities and sh2.2b to additional funding for CHOGM hotels.
Suruma argued that the management of the budget this year had also been complicated by emergencies like floods in eastern Uganda, Ebola and the Kenya crisis.
The supplementary expenditure presented to the caucus shows that the Government spent more sh22.5b on emergency relief service to flood victims.
An extra sh6b went to efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in Bundibugyo and neighbouring districts in western Uganda, while an additional sh6b is required for the purchase of ARVs and Coartem malaria drugs.
In addition, sh1.3b was spent on settling the arbitration fee of UK-based Corbett & Company in the dispute between the Government and international construction company Basil Read Boygues over the cancellation of the Jinja-Bugiri Road contract.
The NRM Caucus agreed to support the sh196b supplementary budget for ministries and other organisations.
“We agreed to support the supplementary budget in the interest of the people. Projects such as the one by the new ARV company directly benefit the people,†said Bahati David, the caucus treasurer.
Suruma explained that the supplementary budget would be funded through budget cuts and temporary draw downs from the Bank of Uganda.
“Finance has undertaken consultations with the Bank of Uganda and agreed that we will remain within our fiscal and monetary programme and accordingly will not compromise our microeconomic stability.â€
The Government has spent sh198b over and above the approved budget for the financial year 2007/2008, said finance minister Dr. Ezra Suruma.
Presenting the supplementary budget requirements to the NRM caucus, attended by President Yoweri Museveni, yesterday, Suruma said a total of sh9.45b extra was spent on MPs’ allowances, particularly for travels to their constituencies. “The shortfalls are a result of the increase in mileage rates for murram and tarmac roads,†Suruma told the MPs at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
During the budget reading in June 2007, Suruma had already complained that increased pay for MPs would disrupt the budget. Ugandan MPs pocket between sh6m and sh9m a month.
Other additional expenditure included sh323m for settling the medical bill of Uganda Human Rights commissioner Father John Mary Waligo, sh15b for State House operations, sh1.4b for the Juba peace talks and sh21b for the redevelopment of State House, Entebbe.
An additional amount of sh2,8b was spent by the Office of the President on classified operations, while an extra sh3.4b went to classified operations in the Ministry of Defence. The biggest chunk of the additional sh198b, however, went to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), amounting to almost sh65b. Of this, sh62.6b went to additional funding for CHOGM activities and sh2.2b to additional funding for CHOGM hotels.
Suruma argued that the management of the budget this year had also been complicated by emergencies like floods in eastern Uganda, Ebola and the Kenya crisis.
The supplementary expenditure presented to the caucus shows that the Government spent more sh22.5b on emergency relief service to flood victims.
An extra sh6b went to efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in Bundibugyo and neighbouring districts in western Uganda, while an additional sh6b is required for the purchase of ARVs and Coartem malaria drugs.
In addition, sh1.3b was spent on settling the arbitration fee of UK-based Corbett & Company in the dispute between the Government and international construction company Basil Read Boygues over the cancellation of the Jinja-Bugiri Road contract.
The NRM Caucus agreed to support the sh196b supplementary budget for ministries and other organisations.
“We agreed to support the supplementary budget in the interest of the people. Projects such as the one by the new ARV company directly benefit the people,†said Bahati David, the caucus treasurer.
Suruma explained that the supplementary budget would be funded through budget cuts and temporary draw downs from the Bank of Uganda.
“Finance has undertaken consultations with the Bank of Uganda and agreed that we will remain within our fiscal and monetary programme and accordingly will not compromise our microeconomic stability.â€